


Holiday Season

by Buckybeardreams



Series: The Classifieds [18]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Classifications, Angst, Baby!Loki, Baby!Peter, Baby!Tony, Childhood Trauma, Classifications, Daddy!Thor, Daddy!Wade, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dinners, Family Drama, First Dates, Fluff, Hurt, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Sex, Little!Bucky - Freeform, Little!Jemma, Little!Leo, Little!Skye, Littles Are Known, Middle!Bruce, Middle!Grant, Mommy!May, Multi, Non-Explicit Sex, Non-Sexual Age Play, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, Sam Wilson is a Saint, Snow, Stuckony officially becomes a thing, Teen!Darcy, Toddler!Clint, Tony gets triggered which triggers Steve and Bucky, and comforts them, caregiver!Sam, daddy!Phil, little!Clint, little!Natasha, little!steve, mommy!jane, toddler!bucky, toddler!steve, very brief implied racism and homophobia in the 1st chapter from Bucky's family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:48:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 57,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckybeardreams/pseuds/Buckybeardreams
Summary: Winter is fast approaching and with it comes the holiday season. From family reunions to snow fun to Christmas, we get to see a glimpse into the separate lives of the friends who have started to become one big family.Edited 2/21/2021
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers & Tony Stark & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Sam Wilson
Series: The Classifieds [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898527
Comments: 22
Kudos: 140





	1. Thanksgiving

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this has really gotten out of hand. 
> 
> This was originally supposed to be a short holiday/winter themed fluff piece with 3 parts that included Thanksgiving, some snow fun, and Christmas. Then I went a little crazy and this has become a full fledged story, that is integral to the series progression and includes a shit ton of back story and angst. 
> 
> I just can't seem to help it, so yeah.
> 
> Also, just so ya know, I'm gonna be stepping back a little bit with this series. I was posting almost daily, but now I'm gonna post 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Tony arrived in California, and headed to his Aunt's house, the temperature mild despite it being late November. Tony knew it would drop a little bit as the peak of the night came, but overall it was comfortable. It was warm enough that Tony could go swimming, if he wanted to. He doubted he'd take a dip in his aunt's pool, but maybe Sharon would convince him to. Peggy wasn't technically Tony's aunt. She had worked with Howard at the agency, back when his father was helping Dr. Erskine to develop a serum for enhancing soldiers. The same serum that was later used on Steve and Bucky when they served. Peggy, had always thought Howard to be full of himself, but he had respected her, but by the time Howard settled down with Tony's mom, he considered himself a traditionalist. Aunt Peggy, knew him back before that, back when Howard held high esteem for the female Dom, when many in the workplace believed a woman ought to be a Sub. That was all before Tony's time though. He had never known the man that Peggy remembered fondly, only the one she had lost all respect for. By the time Tony was a child, Howard was cruel and unyielding in his newly founded traditional beliefs.

Tony was thrilled to be in contact with the woman again. He'd always loved his Aunt, but he had so few memories of her. She stopped coming around when he was five, and he suspected it had to do with his father. He was glad that he got to see her again. Tony got out of the car as it parked in front of a large house, the driver pulling his bags out of the trunk. He tipped the man generously, before rolling his luggage up to the door. It opened after a rap of his knuckles revealing a woman younger than Tony with blonde hair hanging just past her shoulders. He knew this must be Sharon, though they'd never met.

"You must be, Tony. Sharon Carter." She said, holding out her hand.

Her commanding presence made Tony feel that she probably took after her great aunt. It would be rude to ask for her Classification though, so Tony kept the thought to himself. He took her outstretched hand, shaking it, her grip was firm, and she gave him a nod.

"Auntie's in the kitchen with Jarvis if you want to say hello."

She stepped to the side, allowing him to pass. He tried to protest when she grabbed his luggage from him, but she sent him a stern look and pushed him towards the hall. He followed the smell of turkey to the kitchen where Peggy was rolling out dough. Jarvis was pulling the bird out of the oven, and Tony's mouth watered at the sight of the golden brown turkey. Peggy saw him first, dropping her rolling pin on the counter, to pull him in for a hug. Her flour covered apron left a fine white dusting on his tailored suit, but he couldn't find it in him to be upset about it. He wrapped his arms around the slightly hunched woman, squeezing her, before pulling away.

"Tony! I'm so glad you made it."

Jarvis held out a platter of frosted cookies shaped like Christmas trees and stockings.

"Cookie, sir?" The former butler offered.

"You do know you don't answer to me anymore, right Jarvis?"

"Indubitably, sir."

Tony grinned, plucking a stocking shaped cookie off of the tray.

"Edwin, darling, do you know where my earrings went? I can't seem to find them." Ana inquired, entering the kitchen. "Oh, Tony! Dear, look at you, spitting image of your mother, you are. Give me a hug."

The woman pulled him in for a hug, and Tony melted. He remembered her hugs. Ana was always a hugger, and never failed to offer him one when she saw him. The woman was never afraid of his father either. She was a lot like Peggy in that sense. She wasn't a Dom, but she matched perfectly with her Sub husband. Ana was a Neutral, but she always had a soft spot for Tony.

"Come, come, let me give you a tour of the place. Peggy has been such a dear to let us stay here."

"I didn't know Aunt Peggy baked. Does she do that often?" Tony commented as Ana showed him around the house.

Tony doesn't ever remember her joining his mother in the kitchen which wasn't unusual in their time. Dom's rarely did domestic chores back in the seventies. It seems the woman had broadened her horizons since then, or perhaps she had always been a baker. Tony was so young then, he may be remembering it incorrectly. Ana laughed at his comment.

"Oh, heavens no! It's a good thing too. The lass is dreadful at it. I'm not going to tell her so, but she's just lending a hand with some of the grunt work. Jarvis would never let her actually prepare the food."

Tony raised a brow at her. She had already started going off about the house again, but she paused when she noticed his incredulous look.

"What?"

"Since when do Subs let Doms do things? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

Tony had very limited knowledge of Doms and Subs outside of the traditional sense. Growing up his father had always kept his mom on a tight leash. The woman wasn't allowed to do so much as breath without his approval. He couldn't imagine Jarvis telling Peggy what to do. Pepper, May, and Rhodey were the only Doms Tony knew, and though they weren't cruel like his father, they did have a way of leading the show. Doms didn't naturally take to following orders, they gave the orders. Even before Pepper became CEO, back when she worked as his assistant, she told him what to do, and not the other way around. Tony had, quite frankly, been relieved to let someone else take charge, even if he would never admit it. Then again he was a Little, so maybe that was to be expected, not that Pepper knew about it back when she was his assistant. Ana just smiled indulgently at him, patting his cheek with her wrinkled hand.

"Your view on classes is skewed, child. The antiquated views your father raised you with don't hold much bearing in this modern day society. Of course there are still many in power who cling to the traditional or even old ways, but the youth are growing up and it is their view of the world that will lead all people towards equality." The woman told him wisely.

Tony blinked a couple of times. He wasn't sure what to say to that. Ana didn't seem to expect an answer, as she continued the tour. They abandoned the tour when Jarvis called out to them, "Dinner's ready!"

"Come. We mustn't keep him waiting. He'll get cranky if the food goes cold on our account."

Tony sat next to Sharon at the table, Aunt Peggy was at the head of the table, her brother Michael, who arrived just as dinner was served was seated at the other end, and Jarvis and Ana sat across from Tony and Sharon. Conversation was exchanged and delicious food devoured. Pumpkin pie was served as dinner wrapped up, and Tony was in heaven. Afterwards, everyone pitched in to clear away the dishes and wrap up the leftovers. Jarvis stayed in the kitchen to wash dishes, while Peggy, Ana, and Michael retreated to the parlor room.

"Want to go for a dip?" Sharon asked Tony as they were left alone.

"Why not." Tony responded with a smirk.

* * *

Sam wrapped his coat further around his body as he got out of his car. The wind blew down the street in gusts, bursting forth only to settle into the humid air. A shiver ran through him as a particularly strong gust of wind hit him. He grabbed his bag from the back of the car, a twinge in his heart as he saw the three empty car seats in his back seat. Tony had to design them specifically so they'd be slender enough to all fit, without compromising on safety. Sam sighed. He was glad to be going back home for Thanksgiving, but he already missed his Littles. Even when his boys weren't Little, they still often spent time hanging out at the tower together. Playing cards or watching shows. Sam often went on runs with them too. He found it hard to keep up when both of them were Big, because of their enhanced muscles and stamina, but Bucky often was still Little and Steve had to slow his speed to a jog when he was pushing the stroller. Sam couldn't jog with them when they were both Little, because he couldn't push both of them. Until Tony joined though, Sam didn't usually push a stroller. It was usually that which ever boy was Big would push the other, or they didn't do it. There had been a few occasions where Natasha joined him and helped push one of the Littles, but it didn't happen often.

Sam shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about being a Caregiver, at least for the night. He didn't have a Little to care for, so he'd have to be fine just being an adult. He still was a parent though, which is why he found it hard to shut off the part of his brain that was worrying about his kids. We're they okay? We're they having a good time? We're they Big, and more importantly, would they stay Big until he got back to them? It was no secret that Bucky didn't exactly get along with his family. The traditionalists had more than one problem with who he was and the way he was choosing to live his life. Sam had been hesitant when Bucky said that Becca invited him to the dinner. He wasn't going to pull rank and tell him that he wasn't allowed to see his family or anything ridiculous like that, but Sam had considered skipping his own family dinner to go with his Little. Bucky wouldn't hear of it. When Steve told Sam that he and his mom would go with Bucky, Sam felt slightly better about the whole situation. Only slightly.

He approached the old house slowly, snapped out his thoughts when his mom threw open the rickety door. He'd only just placed his first foot on the creaky floor boards of the run down porch and he smiled as she pulled him in for a big hug.

"My dear boy, finally. I was gonna have to hunt you down one of these days, if you didn't choose to come around yourself."

"I'm sorry, Ma. I know I've been distant recently. I'm just busy right now, that's all."

"Oh, I know. You've got yourself those two boys to look after. How are my grandsons anyway?" She asked ushering him into the house.

"They're good. Actually, I've got a third boy now. He's just a baby, but he's not registered, so you can't share his name with anyone. I really hope you can meet him some day though." Sam told her.

He felt bad for not having mentioned it yet, but he hadn't been sure if Tony was comfortable with him sharing. He couldn't lie to his ma, though, so he'd just tell her as much as he could.

"A third! Lord have mercy, you sure do like having your plate full, son. Don't worry I won't make you tell me anything you can't say about him."

"Thanks, Ma."

"Who's here, Darlene?" The voice of Sam's dad called out.

"It's Samuel!" His mom hollered back.

They stepped out of the small front hall and into the living room, Sam setting his bag down on the floor. His dad got up from his sofa chair, tugging him in for a hug, and a pat on the back.

"My boy! Welcome home."

"Hey, Pa."

"Sam's got himself a new Little, Paul. We've got us five grandsons now."

His dad whistled.

"Well, now I just feel old. What's the kids name?" He said, cracking a grin.

Sam laughed. 

"Tony." He replied, a soft look in his eyes.

His dad raised a brow.

"That's Stark, right?"

Sam swallowed.

"Yeah, but he's not registered as a Little." He said, quickly.

His dad hummed, thoughtfully.

"Well, you have to bring him around sometime."

Sam nodded, looking around the small space. It was just how Sam remembered it. The family photos hung up on the wall. The doily on the back of the couch. The chipping paint on the floorboards. It felt like home, just the way it had when he was a boy.

"Am I the first one here?" He asked.

"No, Sarah's upstairs with Jody. Gideon and Jim will be here shortly."

Sam nodded and headed up the stairs to greet his sister and nephew. He knocked on his sisters childhood room, waiting for her response before entering.

"Hey, sis. I heard you were here."

"Sam! Come here you big lug." She hugged him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Jody, say hi to your uncle, baby."

The Little on the floor was playing with a toy airplane, one of the ones Sam and his siblings used to play with as kids. Jody looked up, waving briefly and Sam crouched down next to him.

"Hey, Jody! Whatcha playing, bud?"

"Rangers!" The kid told him excitedly.

"Oh yeah! Do you know I was in the air force for a while?"

"Really?"

His eyes got Big as he stared at Sam.

"Sure was. I flew planes a lot like that one you've got there." Sam told him.

"Woah! That's so cool!"

"Can I join you?"

"Yeah, here."

The kid pushed a plane into Sam's hand. He played with the boy for a while, happy to spend sometime with his nephew, since he rarely got to see his family these days. They all sat down to eat once Gideon and Jim arrived.

"How are you're Littles doing, lil bro?" Gideon asked Sam.

Sam swallowed the bite he was chewing, nodding his head.

"They're doing really good. I've got three of them now."

"No kidding! And I thought one kid was hard enough."

He gestured to his teenage son.

"Yeah, well they're a handful, but I wouldn't change a thing."

"All the power to ya, man. I'm just glad, Jim here, didn't turn out to be a Dom. The kids bullheaded enough as is."

"Oh yeah? Did you get assigned?" Sam asked the teen.

"Yup! I'm a Neutral. No real shock there. My whole class was tested."

Sam nodded, cringing internally. He couldn't help but feel like it was an invasion of privacy to force kids to get tested. He knows it's a way of recording the results and keeping track of the who's what. Sam didn't agree with it, but he wasn't about to bring up politics at Thanksgiving.

* * *

Steve fidgeted nervously as they got off the train. It was only a short distance to Bucky's house from here, but it sure was cold and Steve felt awfully worried about this dinner. Bucky said he wanted to be Big for it, but Steve couldn't help but worry that things might not go as planned. What if they both dropped? There was a number of things that could go wrong on this trip. Steve's known the Barnes' family since he was a kid and he knew better than most how quickly this could go down hill. Sam wasn't here to help them either, he was in Harlem, with his family, which terrified Steve. Not that Brooklyn was terribly far away or anything. He had no doubt that if they needed him, he'd drop everything and come pick them up. That only made it worse though. Sam rarely saw his family anymore and Steve didn't want to be the reason he had to leave them early.

"Hey, quit freaking out. It's gonna be fine, Stevie."

Steve shook his head trying to clear it. He highly doubted it, but he wasn't going to tell Bucky that. He knew Bucky was just as worried about it as he was. His boyfriend was just trying to comfort him by putting on a brave face.

"That's easy for you to say. If you drop because things go awry, I'll just take care of you like I used to."

Bucky looked hurt by his partners words.

"Hey! If you drop, I'd take care a ya." Bucky said, sounding offended.

"I know, Buck." Steve indulged the thought.

It was different though. Steve had spent years being a Caregiver for Bucky. He knew how to do it, like he knew the back of his hand. Sure, Bucky had helped take care of Steve back when they were kids, but it wasn't the same. Maybe that wasn't entirely fair of Steve to think though. After all, Bucky had fed him chicken soup, bathed him when he was too sick to do it himself, and changed his sheets when he couldn't get out of bed and ended up pissing himself. Bucky did know how to take care of Steve, and he could if he had to.

They carried their bags with them to the nice house that Bucky had been raised in. The lawn was green and the paint job recent. The windows were pristine, showing off frilly curtains. Bucky knocked on the door and swallowed down the acrid taste in the back of his throat when he heard his dad call out for his mom to get the door. Steve reached out with his free hand, grabbing Bucky's and squeezing it.

"You okay?"

Bucky's jaw clenched, but he gave a sharp nod. The door swung open smoothly, revealing a stout woman with dark hair and a wrinkled appearance and Bucky pulled his hand out of Steve's instinctively. She looked drastically different from the way she had when they were boys, as though the years had really taken a toll on her. She offered them a smile that seemed a little too polite.

"Welcome, boys. Come in." She said, her voice lacking the proper enthusiasm.

"Thanks, Ma."

"Son, Steve." George Barnes barked from his chair, not even bothering to set his newspaper down.

"Dad." Bucky replied, a harsh edge to his tone.

"Don't you take that tone with me, young man." His father snapped, glaring at Bucky.

"James, please. Don't cause trouble, Sarah will be here soon. Why don't you two go say hi to Rebecca" Winnifred said quickly, pushing them towards the kitchen.

Becca was busy stirring cranberry sauce and didn't notice them, until she turned around to mash the potatoes. Her hand was reaching for the potato masher when her face lit up and she abandoned her work to throw her arms around her older brother.

"Bucky! Thank God you're here. I thought I'd have to suffer through dinner all on my own."

Bucky smiled affectionately at his baby sister twirling her around in his arms before placing her back on her feet. She laughed and smacked the back of his head.

"Don't manhandle me. I get enough of that already." Her words were light and teasing, but Bucky stiffened.

His expression darkened and he had to take a deep breath to calm himself down. Steve also felt anger rising in his chest at the images the girls words brought to his mind. He recalled one too many times that George laid hands on his daughter during their childhood. The girl was only nineteen, barely an adult and being raised by a traditional Dom father and Sub mother. Not only were they strict traditionalists, they were also devout Anglicans. There was no chance the girl would be allowed to leave until another Dom claimed ownership of her, a thought that made both of them feel sick to their stomach.

"Don't look at me like that, Bucky. I didn't mean nothin' by it. Help mash these potatoes, won't ya?"

Bucky still looked upset, but he nodded and set to work helping her out. Steve offered to help too, but Rebecca wouldn't hear of it.

"A good Christian doesn't make their guests work." She said.

"And I'm not a guest?" Bucky scoffed.

"No, you're not. You're my brother. Family doesn't get out of doin' some labor."

Bucky frowned at her words. Steve couldn't stop the flash of hurt that crossed his features, and unfortunately Bucky saw it.

"Steve's family." Bucky said with that edge to his voice again.

Rebecca halted her movements, the salad she'd been tossing settled back in the bowl. She licked her lips and put on a smile.

"Of course he is. You know what I meant." She said in an overly sweet tone that made Steve feel sick.

Bucky looked disgusted.

"No, I don't think I do." He sneered.

"Buck, come on. It's not worth it." Steve tried.

He put his hand on Bucky's shoulder in an attempt to calm him, but he just shook the hand off.

"No, It's not fine. Tell me what ya mean, Becca. I want ta hear ya say it."

The girl sighed, giving her brother an exasperated look. She poured more salad dressing on the salad, before tossing it again. When she was done, she set the serving utensils down.

"Ya know how Daddy feels about ya two. It's nothin' personal. It's just not somethin' a good Christian would do."

Bucky gritted his teeth, anger wafting off of him in waves so thick it was practically palpable.

"And if we weren't both men? Would it be acceptable then?" He spat out coldly.

She rolled her eyes.

"No, it wouldn't and ya know it. It's bad enough ya were born a Little. The least you could have done was fine yourself a decent Caregiver to keep ya in line."

"I have a Caregiver, a really good one, not that you've ever bothered to meet him."

Rebecca raised a brow at him.

"No one decent was born in Harlem, Bucky." She said pointedly.

Steve and Bucky both fought back the urge to strangle her for saying something like that about Sam. Sam was one of the best people they knew and his skin color didn't change that.

"Now it's not me saying this. It's dad. I think if ya wanna sell your soul to the devil. Well, that's on you. It be nice if you'd go to church on Sundays though." Rebecca continued.

"So I can what? Pray that God forgives my sins? Being with a man's not a sin, Becca. Neither is being with another Little, or having a black Caregiver."

Rebecca huffed and looked away.

"Let's not do this now, Sarah's gonna be here soon. Besides, it's Thanksgiving."

"I don't give a damn who's coming or what day it is. I can't believe I agreed to come here."

"Why did ya then? I mean what do ya want from me? To tell ya I condone your lifestyle? I don't, Bucky. It's just not right. Like I said though, you're free to do as ya please.

"Not right? Is it right when dad smacks you and Ma around? Is that what ya consider right, Becca?" Bucky was yelling now.

"You hush up! Don't say things like that. He ain't done nothin' like that for no good reason. We ain't always the most obedient, and it's a Dom's duty to correct bad behavior. You know that!"

"No, I don't! Do you really believe that? Please tell me ya don't."

"You want to know what I believe?"

"Yes, I do! Please enlighten me."

"I believe that you should hate the sin, not the sinner. You're my brother. I love ya, just like I love our father. I forgive ya both for ya misdeeds. I always have and I always will. It's what a good-"

"Don't. Don't say it. And don't ya ever compare me to our bastard of a father. I'm nothin' like him, sis."

Bucky turned on his feet and headed towards the front door. He didn't spare a look at his appalled mother, but Steve did. He noticed the way George was looking at his boyfriend like he was an abomination.

"Steve! We're going!" Bucky called to him from the porch and Steve hurried after him.

Steve called his mother after the shit show that was Thanksgiving at the Barnes house, and she told them to meet her at her place. The small house was just as Steve remembered it, maybe slightly more worn down. It had always been shabby though. The peeling paint on the slats was worse, but they'd needed a fresh coat, since Steve was a small child. The windows were so grimy they didn't need curtains to keep out wandering eyes and the lawn was more than a few years over grown. The porch steps threatened to give out as they groaned under the two men's weight, still they collapsed at the top of them, and Steve swallowed, their bags falling onto the old boards. Bucky had a stoic expression on the walk over, but now it was starting to crumble. His head fell into his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. Steve watched as his whole body shook with tremors from the force of the sobs wracking his body and Steve threw an arm over his shoulders, pulling him into his side.

"I don't want to tell Tony about this." Bucky managed to get out, choking on the words.

"Bucky-"

"I don't want him to know." Bucky snapped, his eyes fuming when they met Steve's.

Steve sighed. He rubbed his hand up and down Bucky's arm.

"Please, Stevie. He can't know."

"Bucky, if we really want Tony to be ours, then we can't just keep things from him." Steve tried to reason.

"Stevie, you know how much I want him now, and that's why he can't know. I don't want him to know just how fucked up my family is, or how pathetic I am."

"Baby, you're not pathetic, don't say that. You're strong, and courageous, and full of love and hope. I wouldn't change a single thing about you."

"I appreciate you saying that, I really do, but I don't wanna tell him. Please, Stevie, I'm begging ya. Don't make me tell him."

Steve let out a resigned sigh.

"Fine. I won't make ya say nothin' and I ain't gonna say nothin' either." Steve agreed, reluctantly, his stress unleashing his Brooklyn accent.

Bucky sighed in relief.

"But Buck, you'll have to tell him eventually. Ya know that right? If we end up with him, the way we're hoping, he can't stay in the dark forever."

Bucky swallowed, but didn't respond. He twisted his body towards Steve, letting his head fall to his chest, and started sobbing again. Sarah Rogers was just getting off work, and by the time she got home, the boys were huddled up on the porch steps. Bucky's eyes were red and puffy from crying and she dropped her purse on the ground, pulling the distraught man in for a hug.

"Oh, you poor thing! Let's get you warmed up."

The screen door creaked as it opened, revealing a chipped door. Steve's mom fumbled with the key, her hands cold from the late November weather. She finally managed to slip the metal into the slot, and twisted until there was an audible click as the inner workings of the lock shifted into place. She removed the key from the frigid knob, and ushered the men inside. They whipped up spaghetti and heated up a can of green beans and spent the rest of the evening sharing stories and catching up. Sarah ranted about the audacity of Rebecca to tell her boy something like that, as though Bucky were her son. They prayed over their meal, something that Steve missed from his childhood, and said what they were grateful for. Steve was grateful to have a mom who was so understanding. His mom was Irish Catholic, but she'd always supported the boys decision to be together. She wasn't judgmental or a traditionalist, even though she was a Sub and Steve's father, Joseph had been a Dom. He died when Steve was young, but from what he remembered, he'd treated his wife like a queen. He would never have raised a hand to her or to Steve, and Steve liked to believe he would've been okay with their relationship, if he had lived long enough to see it unfold.

"We're actually thinkin' of adding a third to our relationship." Bucky said casually.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I'd love to meet them if you do, dear. You remember Robert Frank right?"

Steve laughed, his mom was the best.

"Yeah, of course, I do. He taught me how to throw." Bucky answered immediately.

"That's right. I forgot about that. Well, anyways, I went to school with him and this boy, Max Eisenhardt. Max always had a thing for his best friend growing up, but it wasn't a very accepted concept, two boys being together, so they weren't. He married this Polish woman instead and they had three kids together. One of them, Anya, poor dear, died. The other two were born in Transia. You see Max left his wife when she was pregnant. Imagine that! To be fair, he didn't know she was knocked up. The woman, I believe her name was Magda Gurzky, at least it was before she married Max, so she goes to Mount Wungadore, right? Where a scientist name Herbert Wyndham resided, he was a friend of your father, Steve, way back in the day. He lives in Eastern Transia, you see. Anyways, the point is, she has the twins and leaves them there. She was so distraught after the loss of her eldest and then her husband leaving that she couldn't imagine raising twins all on her own, the poor dear. Herbert sent the kids to a lovely Romani couple, who were living in Sokovia by that point. I don't know what happened to the woman, but I do know that Max went on to marry Robert, and now I hear he's dating his bestfriend, Charles. I even heard they took in a Little. Lorna, if I remember correctly. Robert got in contact with me a couple of weeks ago, asking me for some medical advice. Charles was injured and the two men took him in, so he reached out. I didn't have the heart to tell him that his husband's ex had twins. It was a longtime ago anyways, it's not like the twins are kids in need of a father."

"Jesus, Ma. Was that really all necessary?"

"What? Well, no, I guess not. My point was, there's three of them. Interesting, no?"

"Very." Steve said dryly.

"So, tell me. Anyone special in mind?"

She shot her son a knowing look when he blushed and started fidgeting with the tea bag in his mug.

"Tony Stark. I'm sure you remember him." Bucky answered, smirking.

"Oh my! He sure is a handsome fella, isn't he?"

Steve started coughing.

"He sure is." Bucky agreed, grinning.

* * *

Wanda sighed as her boys bickered in their seats. Paul had his earbuds in and she figured he was listening to the news. She leaned back against the head rest, trying to block out the world around her. They were flying over the open ocean right now and she tried not to think about the plane plummeting down into it's icy depths. They'd only just gotten back to New York, now they were headed back to her childhood home again. It's not that she didn't want to see her parents. She loved them immensely and was glad to be seeing them, even if she'd seen them not even a week ago. She didn't regret going to the movie night with her boys though. They'd been separated from the other Littles for a year, and they deserved to see their friends again. It also worked out well that they were able to be around for Tony's baby shower.

Wanda had missed being at the tower and around her friends. Not only that, but the tower didn't remind her of her brother that she'd lost just over a year ago now. It was then that she had decided to return home. They flew to Sokovia for his funeral and they didn't come back. She hadn't been thinking of staying, until she got there and realized how much she wanted to be close to her parents. Tommy and Billy were understanding of her desire to stay, but she knew, with both the loss of their uncle and the move, that her boys were struggling. Paul had work and left to return to Brooklyn not long after the funeral. She had missed him, but to be fair, her and the boys weren't used to him being around all of the time. Wanda and Paul were married and their bond was unbreakable, but they'd never actually lived together. They didn't need to. They knew they loved each other, and it was okay from them both to do their separate things in life.

Paul had made a point of flying to Sokovia every other weekend and they still video chatted daily, like they always have done, so it wasn't so bad. As much as Wanda enjoyed being with her parents, though, she couldn't deny that being in Sokovia reminded her of her brother. Her boys took over the room that she and her twin had shared as kids. It warmed her heart about the same amount that it broke it.

Being at home was like playing a balancing act with a double edged sword. She wanted to be near her parents, a part of her wished they would have just moved closer to New York, so she could have it both ways. So she didn't have to leave behind her friends to stay near her family. She didn't want to choose between the two, but she couldn't ask her parents to uproot their lives, not after how devastated they were to lose their only son. She also saw how having her boys around filled an empty piece in her parents lives. Once again they had a set of twins to look after, to watch run around while they wreak havoc, and to smile fondly at when they snuggled up together. It was hard for her to take that away from them, which is why she stayed for as long as she did and why they were spending a holiday, that her parents didn't even celebrate, with them.

Still, she knew she couldn't keep her boys in Sokovia forever. Their lives were in the states. Their friends, their school, their father. Everything they had lived in the states. Removing them for a whole year had already been bad enough. She thought back to Billy and Steve, curled up on either side of her as they debated the best PJ Masks character. Then she thought of Tommy, Leo, and Fitz all huddled up close sharing a bowl of popcorn. She smiled and looked at her boys. They weren't Little right now, but they were bickering like children. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't find it in her to really be annoyed. Even Big, they were still only teens.

It took a few more hours, but eventually they made it back to her childhood home. She hugged her mom when the woman opened the door.

"Mama, you just can't get rid of us can you?" Wanda said jokingly.

Her mom smiled warmly and stroked her cheek.

"I wouldn't dream of it, fiica mea."

"Marya, nice to see you, as always." Paul greeted.

"Of course. We're always happy to have you here, Paul." She said before turning to the twins. "Come give me hugs, copii."

"Bunică!" Tommy complained, wiping his cheek when she kissed it.

"Django, bring our nepoții their presents." Her mother called into the house.

"Presents, Mama. We just left, how could you possibly have presents for them?" Wanda asked, exasperated.

"Now, now. Don't you doubt a bunicii ability to spoil her nepoții."

* * *

Phil walked into the dining room, holding a bowl of mashed potatoes and set them down on the table. There we go, he thought, everything's set. Now he just needed to round up his family. He set off to find them. First, he knocked on Leo and Jemma's door. There was shuffling before Jemma poked her head out, looking disheveled.

"We were just, um, working on, um-"

Phil put a hand up to stop her.

"Doesn't matter, I don't want to know. Dinner's ready."

"Okay, we'll be down in like five minutes."

"Fifteen minutes!" Leo hollered from inside the room.

Phil shook his head, walking away, thank god for sound proof walls and a five bedroom apartment. It was originally two apartments, but they knocked out a few walls and expanded. One of the perks of being so close to your boss while living in a building owned by the agency. That way his kids had Little rooms separate from their main rooms. They still had to share, but it worked out fine. Phil opened his bedroom door and shut it immediately.

"Oh god! I did not want to see that." He muttered.

"We'll be out in twenty minutes, Phil." Melinda called from behind the closed door.

"Okay!" He called back.

He knew Melinda was with Grant. They weren't dating, per se. It was more of a friends with benefits sort of situation. He didn't mind it. He was with Clint after all, so it would be pretty hypocritical of him to not be okay with them. That didn't mean he wanted walk in on it. It was kinda inevitable really that they would form relationships beyond friendships with each other, since all of them worked and lived together, though many believed it was inappropriate given the nature of their relationship with their Littles, not to mention it wasn't exactly legal. Phil thought it was a ridiculous law though. He didn't think there was anything wrong with him or May being with their Littles, or their Littles being together. Besides, when you have that many adults living in close quarters and working together, you were bound to have some drama. Really, what's more dramatic than a relationship? Or four.

Phil approached Skye and Grant's door hesitantly. It was open, so he peered inside. Clint and Skye were sitting on the bed, fully clothed and each with a laptop in their lap. He was relieved, not that he was expecting to find them doing anything. Clint and Skye were just friends.

"Oh, thank god!"

They looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

"Don't ask, just, dinner, it's ready."

Everyone shuffled into the dining room in waves. Phil was seated at one end of the table, waiting for his family to appear. First Clint and Skye came in. Clint kissed him, before taking the seat to his left.

"Smells great, babe." Clint greeted his partner.

"Thanks, I slaved away for hours, so I'd hope so." Phil joked.

"Yeah, looks amazing, Coulson." Skye agreed.

She sat down next to Clint. The two were talking about some internet thing that went way over Phil's head. A couple minutes passed before Leo and Jemma joined. Their hands were intertwined and they were swinging them, staring at each other lovingly with dopey grins on their faces. Phil smiled at them.

"Looks lovely." The pair said in sync.

The last two members of his family finally entered the room. Grant immediately walked over to Skye pulling her in for a heated kiss and Melinda pecked Phil on the lips, before taking her spot at the other end of the table. Phil cleared his throat, and Grant and Skye separated.

"Your fly's open, Ward." Fitz said.

Grant cleared his throat, zipping it back up and taking his seat next to Skye.

"Thanks, Fitz." He said with a nod.

"Oh, yeah, of course."

"Melinda, will you do us the honor of carving the turkey?" Phil asked his wife.

She nodded and got up.

"Why's May carving the turkey again?" Leo asked.

"Because she's the Dom." Jemma told him matter of factly.

"Um, no. Not, because, no- that's not why." Phil cleared his throat. "It's because I cooked. This time."

"Doesn't he cook everytime?" Leo, whispered to Jemma, who nodded.

"No, I don't." Phil said, sharply.

"You did last year." Jemma pointed out.

"Yes, but-"

"Barton, doesn't he always cook?" Skye asked.

"He does for me." Clint replied.

"I'm your boyfriend, and your Caregiver, that's different." Phil tried to explain.

"Ward, doesn't cook for me." Skye said.

"Fitz, doesn't cook for me." Jemma added.

Phil sighed, this was a losing battle. Jemma opened her mouth to say something else.

"Simmons." Melinda warned, and Jemma's mouth snapped shut.

They sat awkwardly for a few minutes, the only sound coming from the knife sawing at the turkey. It was Grant who broke the silence.

"So, Barton. You seem like the kind to top from the bottom."

May sighed, Phil face palmed, and everyone else looked expectantly at Clint.

"Well, actually-" Clint started.

"Ooh, do tell." Jemma said, leaning forward excitedly in her seat.

"Enough." Melinda snapped, effectively silencing them all.

Phil was grateful for the absence of sound.

* * *

Bruce and Natasha had spent the last Thanksgiving dinner with their family. Their family being Phil and May, and their Littles. This year was different. This year Natasha was returning home for what she hoped would be a happy family reunion. She wasn't a fool though.

Natasha was born and raised in Russia. She wasn't exactly brought up celebrating Thanksgiving, but her family agreed to throw a dinner in her honor. She had accepted the invitation hesitantly. She couldn't help but feel there was some ulterior motive behind the event. She had her suspicions as to what it might be, but she brought Bruce with her anyway. If she was right, than her family wouldn't be thrilled about the addition. She hadn't bothered mentioning he was coming. If it was too much of an issue, she would just leave. She had a family and friends in the states, and didn't really need the one from her past.

Bruce didn't know a whole lot about Natasha's family. What he did know, wasn't exactly pleasant. From what he'd pieced together she didn't exactly have a warm and fuzzy childhood, not that she mentioned it often. In fact, Bruce had only ever heard her talk about her childhood on three occasions. All were brief and immediately brushed under the rug afterwards. The first time occurred because Bruce had seen her snuggling with Phil. Bruce had made the mistake of asking her if she'd always been a daddy's girl. Her reply was curt, and her tone practically dared him to bring it up again. He didn't. All she said was that her father was a cruel man, and she was glad he was dead. The second time was when Clint mentioned that she'd been cuffed to the bed as a child. Natasha just glared at him, but said that it was true and Clint received a slap on the head for his loose tongue. The last time was when she announced her mother had invited her to dinner. Bruce was surprised, to say the least. He hadn't been aware that she was even in contact with her family. When she asked him to come with her, he asked who would be there. That's when he learned that her mother's name was, Melina, and she also had a sister, Yelena.

Bruce received suspicious stares when they entered the small apartment that belonged to Natasha's mother. The small woman had a scarf tied around her head and graying hair peeking out from under it. She was hunched over as she walked and she shot Natasha a stern look.

"ваш oпекун?" The woman, that Bruce assumed was her mother, sneered.

Natasha returned her judgmental look with a hard one of her own. Bruce had a feeling this would be a tense experience, he just hoped they didn't start fighting. He had a feeling the woman could match her daughter in hand to hand combat despite her seemingly frail exterior.

"Нет, мой парень."

Her mother didn't look pleased with her response. Despite Bruce's vast knowledge in many areas, he had only managed to pick up a few Russian phrases. Most of which were insults or endearments that Natasha commonly used. Unfortunately, that left the man a little lost as they exchanged words that were foreign to him. They didn't sound happy, nor did they hug or greet each other.

"Сидеть." Her mother said icily.

Natasha took a seat on a rickety chair, her eyes narrowed as she watched her mother closely. The old woman had turned her back to them and appeared to be scooping something into bowls.

"Sit." Natasah said, when he didn't join her.

Bruce quickly took the seat next to her, feeling very out of place. He was glad when a woman, who resembled Natasha but had blonde hair, entered the room. She narrowed her eyes at the pair, but smirked. Natasha smirked back at her and rose, pulling her in for a hug. Bruce assumed this was her sister. His suspicions were confirmed when Natasha referred to her by name. Yelena turned her eyes towards Bruce, she raised a manicured brow skeptically, but offered him her hand.

"Елена Белова."

"Bruce Banner, it's a pleasure to meet you."

He shook her hand. Yelena looked equal parts amused and put out. She didn't speak to him again. Her eyes snapped back to Natasha and the two sisters had a stare down before taking seats. Their mother set four bowls down on the table and sat down heavily in a chair. It was definitely a tense experience. They ate mostly in silence. Sometimes words would be spoken, but Bruce understood very little of it.

"Thank you for the dinner, Mrs. Romanoff." Bruce said, politely when the woman grabbed his empty bowl.

She narrowed her eyes at him and shot a hard look at Natasha. Bruce wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, but he strongly felt he'd done something. The woman barked something at him that he recognized as a slur for Little and he was taken aback. Agent Rumlow used this particular word when he was being rude to Natasha once. The man had ended up with an arm snapped in two places. Frankly, it would have been worse if Bruce hadn't pulled her away. Natasha slammed her palms down on the table, standing up abruptly. He didn't understand what she said, but he got the feeling she was defending his honor. It made his chest tighten uncomfortably. Most people saw her as cold and distant at best, or cruel and dangerous at worst, but Bruce knew better. Natasha was fiercely loyal. She wasn't one to stand down from a fight and she always protected her friends and family. Bruce had a feeling that same loyalty didn't extend to her biological family.

"Наталья Альяновна Романова!" The woman snapped back.

"Did she just call you Natalia?" Bruce muttered to her under his breath.

She glanced at him but didn't respond.

"Let's go." She said instead.

* * *

Two hours later they were on a plane back to New York. Apparently she didn't expect to stay long, since she had pre-booked the flight. Bruce waited a while before broaching the subject, not sure if she wanted to talk about it or not.

"That was," He paused to think about what he should say before settling on, "Interesting."

She just hummed in response.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers and pressed a kiss to it. He smiled, but felt uncertain. She offered a smile back, hoping to reassure him that everything was fine.

They lapsed into silence once more, until the nagging questions bubbled up in Bruce's throat and burst forth.

"Why didn't they like me?"

Natasha looked pained, but schooled her expression quickly.

"They did. You were great, львёночек." She soothed.

Bruce threw her a disbelieving look. They clearly didn't.

"Don't patronize me, I know they didn't. I'm not oblivious, Nat."

She just shrugged and looked out the window.

"She did call you Natalia, didn't she?"

"Yes. It is my birth name."

Bruce tried not to show the hurt he felt. It seemed he really didn't know much about her at all if he didn't even know the name she was given by her parents.

"Wow."

She sighed and looked at him.

"If you must know, I was born Natalia Alanovna Romanova. My father was named Ivan Romanova and my mother kept his last name even after he died. My sister married a brute of a man, which is why her last name is Belova."

Bruce's eyes widened as he took in the information. He'd never heard her talk so much about her family before, not that she'd really said all that much. Still it was a lot for Natasha. Bruce felt a little bad for pressing her on the subject, but not badly enough to stop

"Why wasn't he at the dinner? Your brother-in-law." He clarified, when she raised a brow in question.

"We're all widows." Was her brief explanation.

"All?"

"Yes, my husband is dead."

Bruce sat back in his chair. That's not what he was expecting to hear. She raised a brow at his dejected expression.

"It was an arranged marriage. I didn't love him." She said, her voice softened, her eyes searching his.

"Any other past husbands I should know about?" He asked, feeling a little bitter.

She smirked at him, and he could tell she was amused by his reaction. It didn't help him feel better about how little he seemed to know the woman he shared a bed with.

"No, but I did date Bucky. It was a while ago, back when Tony first met Steve and would flirt constantly with him. He flirted with Bucky too, but Bucky didn't seem to notice, or maybe he just didn't want to. I think he mostly just did it to make Steve jealous."

"Did it work?" Bruce found himself asking.

"Yes. He ordered Bucky to break up with me and as you can imagine that didn't go over so well. That's really the only reason we didn't stop immediately. It only went on for a couple of weeks in total though."

"Why did you stop?"

"Tony stopped flirting with Steve." She said, smirking at her partner.

The silence settled around them once more, but it didn't last long. There was one more thing Bruce needed to get off his chest. He needed to know the answer.

"That name that she called me." He said at last, "Is that why they didn't like me? Could they tell I was Little?"

She licked her lips and looked at him gravely. Her demeanor darkened and Bruce saw a glimpse of the danger that others saw when they looked at her.

"She had no right to say such a thing about you. You are perfect, львёночек." She said firmly.

"That's not what I asked." Bruce pressed.

Natasha looked away and he was beginning to think he wouldn't get an answer, when she spoke up again.

"My husband was a Caregiver. It is expected of me as a Little to have a Caregiver."

Bruce shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Part of him wished he hadn't said anything.

"You do have a Caregiver."

"Yes, but he doesn't own me the way my mother believes a Caregiver should."

They dropped the subject, and Bruce pondered her words. A sick feeling settled in his gut. He had a feeling he understood what she wasn't explicitly saying. He wondered if that was why she was so adamant that even as a Little she called the shots.

* * *

Thor and Jane bustled around the kitchen, basting the turkey and baking rolls. They spent most of the day going in and out as they prepared the holiday feast. Loki and Darcy were Big and lounging in the living room. Thor smiled as he heard them laughing at the show they were watching and throwing jabs at each other. It was a light teasing that was so common amongst family members. There was no heated discussions or debates that led to screaming matches at this particular family event. Erik arrived just in time to sit down with them and enjoy the large feast. They had only just started serving themselves, when Thor's phone rang. He had half a mind to just ignore the damn thing. It was Thanksgiving dinner, why on earth would someone being trying to contact him? He was glad when he saw the caller ID that was flashing across the screen that he hadn't.

It was the hospital calling. A nurse was telling him that his father had woken up, and all Thor could do was drop his jaw. There was a buzzing in his ears as he hung up the phone. Jane looked at him nervously, and Loki frowned at him when he stood up. Thor started putting on his shoes, his body working on autopilot. He barely even noticed he was doing it, until Jane grabbed his arm. He was standing in front of the elevator, the doors sliding open.

"Thor, where are you going? Who was on the phone?"

He swallowed, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. He could barely process his own thoughts let alone form them into articulate words.

"The hospital." He managed to say, his voice cracking.

Her eyes got big and she glanced around the room. A second passed where everyone tried to process what he'd said, the brief moment felt like an eternity to Thor. Then everyone jumped into action. Loki was on his feet, his shoes on and standing next to Thor, in the blink of an eye. Darcy and Jane were right behind him. Erik said he'd stay back and pack up the food. When they arrived at the hospital Thor still hadn't told them why. It was like his mind wasn't connecting to his mouth, the words just wouldn't come out. It was almost as if he was certain it was a lie, and he couldn't bear to see the hope that was fluttering in his chest echoed in their eyes. When they burst through the door that led to his father's room, Thor's heart stopped. Loki gasped beside him and Jane clutched at Thor's arm. His father was awake. His eyes were open and he was eating jello. There were still tubes coming out of his arm and his nose, but he smiled at them. Thor took a shuddery breath, approaching the bed.

"Father."

The one word was all he could manage before he broke down. Sobs wracked his large body and tears poured from his eyes. He couldn't believe it. It was a holiday miracle that his father was sitting up in bed looking at him with his one eye. Half his face was bandaged up, but Thor was used to that by now. He'd spent almost every day for the last three months staring at his father's limp form in his hospital gown. His body hooked up to beeping machines, that told Thor he was still alive and breathing, even though he didn't look it. His father had lost an eye during the attack on his life, but that didn't matter now. He was alive and awake and here, and that's all that mattered.

Darcy called Erik with the news and he brought over Tupperware containers with the dinner they hadn't had the chance to eat. Unsurprisingly, Loki had dropped from the shock, and was now curled up in Thor's lap. They sat on the edge of their father's bed filling him in on what he'd missed. He was happy to hear that Sam took in Tony and expressed the desire to meet the baby someday. Loki told him excitedly that he'd already met him and they were friends. Thor pressed a kiss to his temple at that. His mother, who had also received word from the hospital, arrived late that night. They were still all there even though, technically, visiting hours were over. It wasn't easy to tell a king his family had to leave, especially not on Thanksgiving. Finally, as the clock struck midnight and Loki fought to keep his eyes open, Jane suggested they head home. Loki whined, because he didn't want to leave.

"Come on, Lolo, let's get you home." Thor told the boy fondly.

He yawned and hugged his father, before clinging to Thor. Thor gave his father a hug as well, as best as he could with his Little attached to him like a koala bear. Their mother pressed a kiss to each of their cheeks and they headed out the door. Erik had already taken Darcy back to the tower with all of the leftovers.

"I want a story, Daddy." Loki murmured sleepily, as they waited for the elevator.

"Of course you can have a story, baby." Thor assured the boy.

The two Caregivers shared a fond look as their little boy laid his head down on his daddy's shoulder.

* * *

Peter helped his aunt in the kitchen before setting the table for three. Wade would be there soon and Peter couldn't wait to dig in. Everything smelled so good,at th Peter kept sneaking bites of food when he thought Aunt May wasn't looking.

Peter knew that the holidays were hard for her, since it reminded her of his parents and his uncle. He was trying really hard to stay Big, so he wouldn't burden her with his needs. It was hard though. Thursday was usually one of his Little days. He'd been upset when he had to take the bus home after school even though Wade had offered him a ride. He couldn't accept it. He knew if he got in Wade's car that the man would buckle him into his car seat and Peter would drop. There was no fighting it when he had the promise of Wade looking out for him, so he made himself ride the bus. It wasn't that bad. Ned was happy to have him there and they chatted about their plans for the break. He and Wade were going to take Ned sledding in the mountains.

Ned had never been before, but Peter went every year. It was something he'd always done with his parents growing up, and then with his uncle when they passed away. When his uncle died May made a point of taking him up herself, even though she hated the cold and the way the air got thinner and harder to breathe when you went up that high. Peter loved it though. He loved the bite of the cold air on his face that left his nose and cheeks red. He loved the way snow crunched underneath his clumpy snow boots. He loved the way the fine powder of freshly fallen snow combined with his large puffy coat added a layer of protection when he fell over. He wasn't very coordinated when he was Little, and he fell over enough, as is, add large boots, clothes that restrict your movement, and ground that shifted under your feet, and well, Peter spent more time on the ground than on his feet. He really didn't mind though. He loved to stick his gloved hands in the snow and scoop up handfuls, throwing it above his head so snow rained down on him or eating it. He really loved eating it. Peter loved everything about playing in the snow. Even afterwards, when he was stripped of the wet outer layers and handed a thermos of hot chocolate that was closer to room temperature. He'd curl up under a blanket, listening to holiday music play on the radio. It was heaven on earth. Peter couldn't wait to head up to the mountain. Wade knocked at the door pulling Peter out of his hopeful dream of snow fun. He opened the door, letting him enter the small apartment. Peter purposely kept his distance as the man took off his shoes and coat.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Petey!" Wade greeted his Little cheerfully.

Peter swallowed and looked away. He felt like he was slipping on ice and one more footstep would send him crashing to the ground. Knowing Wade was there to scoop him back up, only made it harder for Peter.

"Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving." He mumbled.

The Caregiver furrowed his brows. He was used to being greeted with a hug, but Peter stepped back when he held out his arms. Wade dropped them back to his side, shifting awkwardly. He cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable and confused and Peter had to turn away. He knew if he didn't he'd run into his daddy's arms and then he'd be a baby. He busied himself with setting out the silverware and needlessly straightening them. Wade could tell the kid was nervous and he suspected it was because he wanted to stay Big, so he gave him some space and went to greet May in the kitchen.

"Ms. Parker." He greeted her politely, with a nod.

"Don't even start with me Wade Wilson. Call me May. I've known you far too long for such a formal introduction."

"You tell me that every time I see you." Wade remarked.

"Well, maybe one of these days it will penetrate that thick skull of yours."

Wade put a hand to his chest, clutching at his heart dramatically.

"You wound me with your words."

She laughed, hitting him on the arm lightly.

"Oh, stop it. You and your dramatics. Help me with this food and then we can eat. I know Peter's dying to get started, he keeps stealing bites, thinking I don't notice, hah!"

Wade laughed at that. Yup, that sounds like his kid. Eager to please, but sneaky if he thinks your not looking. Wade thinks it's partially Loki's influence. It wasn't until half way through the meal that it became obvious to both adults that Peter had fully dropped. May nonchalantly removed his knife from his reach, and Wade moved to sit next to the baby. It was clear that Peter was trying his best to pretend he was still Big. It was a failed attempt. His words were inarticulate, and more food was falling on his lap than was reaching his mouth. Wade shared a look with May and she took her last bite, standing up to clear her plate. Wade reached over, helping to guide the bite of potatoes into the boys mouth before he could spill it on himself. He happily swallowed the mouthful, but pouted when Wade stopped him from scooping up more.

"Come on, baby boy. Let Daddy help you with that."

Peter frowned at him and said something that might have been don't need it, I'm big. Wade just chuckled and stood him up. Peter flushed when food fell out of his lap. Wade helped brush him off and took him to get changed before bringing him back to the table in footsie pyjamas and protection. Peter was in Wade's lap now. He pouted at first, because he wanted to stay Big, but then he realized it didn't really matter. Wade was here to take care of him, so May wouldn't have to worry about it. Peter wondered why that hadn't occurred to him when Wade had arrived. He figures he must have been too focused on not dropping. Plus, he had been floating in that weird space between Little and Big, that never failed to leave him confused. After that, he was happy to accept bites of food, pleased when all of it actually made it into his mouth. He hummed, content to lean back and let the food come to him. Eventually, he was full and sleepy. He turned his head away when Wade tried to give him another bite, and opted to snuggle into his daddy instead. Wade kissed the side of his head. He scooped up the baby and brought him over to May to say good bye before taking him back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes! So Bucky's family sucks, so does Natasha's mom. 
> 
> I actually made this before I watched the trailer for the black widow movie. Now I'm glad I didn't make Yelena totally suck too, because I kinda like her and maybe she'll show up again at some point. Idk
> 
> Lots more backstory added in here and lots of new side characters. Odin's awake, Tony's been reunited with Aunt Peggy, Wanda and her boys are working there way into the mix, among other things.
> 
> Who noticed the relevance of the story Sarah tells Steve and Bucky? Cuz that's gonna matter, eventually. *hint, hint*
> 
> 2/13/2021 - 55 parts in and we still haven't gotten to the point where this particular bit of info really matters. I mean it gets hinted at and brought up and such, but Wanda still doesn't know who the fuck Max is so... welp, what can I say, 300,000 words in and we still have a lot of plot points left, and more heading our way lol
> 
> Also looking back and remembering how much freaking research went into this, like I even freaking looked up the typical weather in California. I looked into everyone's families and backgrounds and pieced it all together to try and figure out what I wanted for this AU, like damn, this chapter alone is just a whole fucking thing
> 
> Romanian:  
> fiica mea - my daughter  
> copii - children  
> bunicii - grandmother  
> nepoții - grandchildren  
> Russian:  
> ваш oпекун(vash apyekun) - your guardian  
> Нет, мой парень(nyet, moy paren') - no, my boyfriend  
> Сидеть(sidyet') - sit  
> Елена Белова - Yelena Belova  
> Наталья Альяновна Романова - Natalia Alianovna Romanova  
> львёночек(l'vyonochyek) - lion cub (it's very common in Russia to compare your loved ones to small animals, so this is a term of endearment)
> 
> I transliterated these Russian words myself, so if it's different than the usual translit, that's why
> 
> Also, I couldn't find the Russian spelling of Yelena's name, so I just had to sound it out


	2. The Hike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is like a smidgen of NSAP in this but mostly they're Big

December had begun and the weather in Manhattan was getting rough. Bucky was still on edge from his eventful reunion with his family and Sam suggested he go out of town with Steve. Tony offered they could use one of his many vacation houses, but they turned him down. They didn't feel right using one of Tony's places and not even having the man there with them. When Bucky mentioned what Sam was trying to push him into, Clint jumped on the offer that hadn't really been an offer at all. Apparently, Phil's family has a cabin in Florida. Suddenly, they had a whole group going to the small two-bedroom cabin. Phil told them all about the days long road trip, he and his father would take to get there when he was a kid. They would park there car at one of his relatives houses once they got there, and take a cab up to the trail, before making the hike up to the cabin. Tony thought it sounded like a horribly taxing experience. When he told Phil this, the older man just smiled at him and nodded agreeably, taking a swig of his beer.

A crick trickled in front of them cutting off the trail and a small bridge lead them over it. The only things that could be heard as they crossed, was the hollow thuds of boots against wooden boards, the gurgle of running water and the twittering coming from the trees. The sun filtered through the leaves, casting a golden hue on the ground. It was a nice break from the frigid cold of New York. The weather was humid but still in the mid seventies making it a warm experience. Clint whistled back to the birds as he walked next to Nat. They lead the group through the twist and turns of the beaten path. Natasha seemed at peace, her limbs soft and body relaxed and Clint was content in letting her guide him, her hand intertwined with his tugging him gently along. He kept pace with her always only a step or two behind. Phil followed them content to watch his Littles from a short distance.

Banner and Tony trailed behind the rest of the group, chatting about an article from the latest science journal. Steve had slowed his pace enough to walk next to Bucky who's eyes kept darting around the forest. Bucky found it hard to relax and enjoy the scenery. It reminded him too much of marching through shrubbery with the 107. Steve snatched his hand offering a comforting squeeze when a chipmunk sped up a tree. Bucky's eyes darted to the dense canopy overhead his whole body going rigid. He came to a halt and Tony, distracted by his conversation, didn't notice. He slammed right into Bucky's broad back. Bucky whipped around to face the supposed threat, and it was Steve's hand in his that kept him from throwing Tony to the ground. Steve pulled Bucky into his chest soothing him with gentle touches as Banner steadied Tony.

"Thanks." Tony muttered, his eyes blown wide.

Bucky was frantically searching the trees that surrounded them, seeking out the danger that didn't exist. Tony couldn't help but pity the soldier. Tony knew he suffered from PTSD, it was why lightning made him scream like he was stilling being electrocuted in that damn awful chair that Tony had heard about. Bucky didn't talk about his past much, but one night after a couple of beers, he'd mentioned some things to Tony that had his insides twisting in a horribly familiar way. The things Bucky endured were some how even worse than what Tony had been through. That was really saying something, since Tony had been through hell and back during his short stint in Afghanistan.

"Should he be out here, Rogers?" Tony asked, incredulously.

"He's fine, Stark." Steve said instantly, but he looked uncertain even as he tried to reassure Tony.

Bucky's eyes were still raking the shrubbery and scanning the surroundings but his body had relaxed into Steve's embrace. Tony tried to push down the part of him that wanted to reach out and provide comfort to the clearly terrified man. His boyfriend's got this, he told himself. The voice inside of him that always thought the worst of everything and everyone, warned him that Bucky was dangerous. Told him that if Steve wasn't there to pull him back, he would have hurt him. Maybe that was true, but he knew logically that even if Bucky did hurt him it would be unintentional. Tony has had his fair share of violent outbursts do to his time in imprisonment.

One time Pepper had woken him up during a nightmare and he wrapped his hands around her neck before realizing he was in his living room. Of course he'd felt awful afterwards. He would never hurt Pepper, not intentionally. so he understood what Bucky was going to, to some degree. Tony had never been a soldier, and he certainly didn't have the enhanced strength that Bucky did, still he felt bad for the man. He was careful to keep his distance after that, walking a couple of paces behind Bucky and Steve and Steve kept an arm wrapped around Bucky's waist. Tony wondered how much of that was to comfort and how much was to restrain.

They stopped at a break in the trees to stare out at the view of running water stretched out below the cliffside. An island of massive rocks half submerged in water, jutted out of the middle of the rippling river. Phil snatched Clint's hand to pull him back from the ledge earning him a glare from the man who shook his hand free. He made a point of sitting on the edge, his legs dangling over the one hundred foot drop. Natasha joined him, their shoulders pressed together as they leaned into each other. The sun setting over the mountain tops shone on them, casting a picturesque shadow of their forms behind them. Bruce and Phil watched anxiously staring at their daring partners backs. Tony knew that if Clint was Little, Phil wouldn't have let him approach the edge of the cliff. Clint probably knew this too, which is most likely why he was eager to push that limit now. Bucky approached the ledge too, but kept a reasonable distance back. Tony had a feeling Sam would still be watching nervously if he was here. He was working today though. Tony kept back, watching as Steve wrapped an arm around his partner and leaned into him.

"What a view. Now let's get a move on. I don't want to still be walking when the sun disappears behind those hills." Tony said eager to return to the safety of the forest brush.

Tony tried to keep the slight shake out of his voice, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't like he'd never been up high. He was plenty used to flying in his private jet, but it was different watching something out a window, then it was standing on the side of a mountain staring out at the vast landscape that was laid out in front of him. It felt much more real, much more dangerous. He definitely failed to hide his fear, because Natasha twisted her body to look back at him, raising a brow.

"Those hills are called mountains, Tony." She mocked. "Not scared are you?"

Tony glared at her. Even if he was scared, he certainly was not going to admit it to Natasha. The spy didn't seem to fear anything, Little or not. Tony tried his hardest to never show weakness and Natasha was the last person he wanted to admit weakness too. No matter what Sam said, Tony still wasn't convinced that showing fear wasn't a weakness, so he strutted up to the edge and crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest. Tony gulped staring out at the view and tried to keep his gaze from looking down. He couldn't help the tremble in his bod, when his eyes slipped. The ground looked impossibly far away and he could feel the anxiety creeping up on him. Steve cast a worried glance towards him but Tony didn't notice. Bucky also glanced at Tony, noting the slight tremble. He nudged Steve, but Steve was hesitant to reach out for the man. He didn't know how he would react to being touched, especially since he was clearly scared of plummeting to the bottom of the ravine. When Tony took an involuntary step towards Steve, his side pressing into the other man, Steve snaked his arm around his waist and shared a smile with Bucky. Tony had immediately leaned closer to Steve, arms coming up to wrap around him.

They stayed there a while, Steve content to just hold both of the men he loved close. Natasha scooped up a rock and threw it down towards the river, the splash it made barely visible from the height they were at. Tony's eyes got big watching the stone get smaller and smaller as it fell. With a small yelp, he turned away from the cliff, hiding his face in Steve's chest. Bucky stretched his arm over to run his fingers through Tony's hair and Tony practically melted at the gentle touch. His body went lax and Steve's arm left Bucky, to support Tony's weight.

Phil eventually bribed Clint and Natasha away from the edge with the promise of s'mores. Steve had a feeling that Tony was closer to Little than Big at this point, because when he went to pull away Tony just whined and clutched Steve tighter. Bucky smirked at him and ruffled his hair before telling Steve to just pick him up. Tony was happy to snuggle in Steve's arms as Steve carried him the rest of the way to the campground. Bucky's anxiety ramped up again when they were under the thick layer of trees but he kept close to Steve and was relieved when the trees gave way to a large opening.

They had arrived at the small cabin that Phil's family owned. Phil told them stories of him coming out here to fish with his dad as a boy, and Clint teased him for being scared of his dad's ghost stories. The temperature dropped a bit as the sun disappeared and everyone put on jackets. A plaid blanket was wrapped around a slumbering Tony. The fire blazed hot and bright as they roasted marshmallows and munched on s'mores. Tony woke up just long enough for Bucky to feed him small bites of his s'more before passing out in Steve's lap again. How Tony slept through the racket Natasha, Clint and Bucky were making, as they laughed and joked, was a mystery. Natasha tried to teach Clint some songs in her native tongue that he butchered and Bucky made fun of him. Bucky had spent some time in Russia during his time abroad and even though he wasn't Russian like Natasha, his pronunciation matched that of a native. Phil scolded Clint, who had regressed by this point, for shoving Bucky out of his chair. Bucky just laughed and said he was fine, but Phil was not impressed and insisted that shoving friends was not okay. Everyone just rolled their eyes, except Steve, who dutifully nodded in agreement and Bruce who was lost in the pages of his book.

Natasha had curled up in Bruce's lap, making him hold his book farther away to accommodate her, but he didn't complain. The campfire flickered, casting an orange glow and making shadows dance across her pale skin as she gazed at it. Clint climbed into Phil's lap complaining that it was chilly, even as the fire warmed him. Bucky was content to brush Tony's curls out of his eyes and watch the fire, while the baby snuggled up against Steve. The moon was nearly full in the sky above their heads and the stars twinkled at them like diamonds scattered across a midnight blue canvas. They spent a couple of hours just enjoying each others company until the fire burnt out. Clint was asleep by that point and Phil lifted him into his arms taking him up to the larger of the two rooms. Bruce and Natasha hung out in the living room for a while before sliding into bed next to them. Clint was curled up on Phil's chest, his thumb in his mouth and his purple hawk in his arms.

When Phil retired to their room with a sound asleep Clint, Steve carried Tony up to the other room. It was smaller and clearly still set up for a young Phil with a chest of old wooden toys and a twin sized bed. There was also a small dresser with an oil lantern on top of it. Despite the old appearance the cabin was frequented often and Phil's cousin had washed the bedding the week before when he came up with his son. Steve laid the baby down on the middle of the small bed after pulling the covers back. He didn't change him, but he did wriggle off his skinny jeans. He didn't want to ruffle through Tony's stuff without his permission, besides Steve was used to sleeping next to Bucky who sometimes had accidents even if he wasn't Little.

Tony had their stuff sent up to the cabin before they arrived, even though Phil said they could easily carry their bags with them. Tony had just scoffed at the thought of taking a back pack on the hike. He already hadn't been thrilled at the prospect of hiking. He had even offered to have them flown up in the helicopter with their stuff, but Natasha had shot the idea down. She insisted that the experience was worth the short trek up. Tony didn't think a three mile hike constituted a short trek, but he gave in when Bucky joked that Tony wouldn't have survived boot camp. Tony had clearly been offended by the implication.

Steve and Bucky changed into sweats and tight fitting t-shirts before joining the sleeping baby in bed. Bucky had to climb over Tony, but didn't complain. He just pulled him against his chest, and Tony snuggled into him. Steve slid in on Tony's other side, closest to the edge, and wrapped his arms around him.

It was a tight fit and they had to squeeze close together, even so Bucky was pressed up against the wall and Steve was dangerously close to the side of the bed, neither man complained though. It was hard to be upset when Tony sighed happily and slipped his thumb into his mouth.

Tony wasn't surprised when he woke up surrounded by the two men. He had agreed to share the bed with them before coming on the trip knowing that the bed was so small. He was used to sleeping next to them at Sam's, so it didn't seem like a big deal. However, so far he's always woken up Little at Sam's and last night he had fallen asleep Little in Steve's arms. He remembered it and it hadn't embarrassed him in the slightest. Now he was Big though and as he laid in between the two muscular men he had a hard time keeping his mind from wandering. Their arms were wrapped around him and he was squished up against their chests in a way that he had grown used to when he was Little. He couldn't help but think it was different now though. His breathing tried to pick up and he focused on not hyperventilating. He laid perfectly still, his body tense. Steve shifted only moments later, pulling Tony closer into his arms. Tony couldn't help the squeak of surprise that left him and Bucky opened his eyes at the sound.

"Are you okay, baby?" Bucky asked Tony, not suggestively but the way a parent would ask about their child's well being.

Tony just stared at him wide eyed for a minute, his cheeks burning as he processed the endearment and wriggled in Steve's arms. Steve cracked open his eyes at the movement.

"I'm not a baby. Steve let go." He complained when Steve's arms tightened around his squirming form.

Steve let him go immediately.

"Oh sorry, I just thought- it's just, you were Little when you went to sleep and usually you wake up Little when you're with us." Bucky said quickly, trying to explain.

"I know, it's fine." Tony rushed out. "Usually you're Little too, and you're clearly not now."

Bucky raised a brow at him.

"No, I'm not. Stevie, you Little?"

"Not even close."

Tony gulped again, his mouth going dry. Well shit. This really shouldn't matter, but Tony couldn't help but think that it did. He squirmed on the bed again and that was when he noticed he wasn't wearing protection and he needed to pee. Oh shit.

"Let me out." He snapped.

Steve practically jumped away from him, landing on his feet.

"I'm sorry, you said it was okay to share a bed and-" Steve said in one long string of words.

"What? Shut up, Rogers. Where's the bathroom?" Tony said urgently.

"The door on the left." Steve responded immediately.

Tony rushed out of the room. He was honestly surprised he hadn't pissed on them while he was sleeping. He couldn't fathom why they would even consider putting him to bed while he was Little without a diaper. He cringed as the thought crossed his mind. He'd accepted that he wore diapers when he was Little, but it still embarrassed him when he was Big. He just tried not to think about it too much. He only hesitated slightly at the thought of returning to bed. He sleeps in a bed with them all the time, he told himself, it really doesn't matter. Plus, he was still exhausted. The sky was still dark out the window cueing him in on how late it was. If he was at the tower he probably would have said fuck it and headed down to the lab with a hot mug of coffee. He wasn't though. He was just glad he'd woken up to pee. Usually, he didn't. He grimaced at the thought of wetting the bed. It was bad enough when he was alone, he really didn't want to pee on someone else too. He paused at the edge of the bed, wondering if it was foolish to risk it. He wasn't Little though, so the thought of wearing a diaper was just cringy. Steve had curled up on the bed again, and he frowned when he realized his spot in the middle had been taken. They both looked up at him as he approached and Steve sent Tony a concerned expression as he frowned down at them.

"You're in my spot." He said, confused.

He realized afterwards that that didn't really make sense. He could have just climbed into bed next to Steve. It was just that he had gotten used to sleeping in between them, that's usually where he slept at Sam's anyways, at least he had been more recently. Ever since that first dinner since his months in the lab he'd inexplicably found himself squished between Steve and Bucky. Now with the cold of the night biting at his ankles he was eager to find himself huddled up in their warm embrace. Steve looked surprised by his words but scooted over. Tony could see he was going to get out of the bed to let him slide in, but he was too cold for that. The moment the spot was large enough for him, he crawled right over Steve's body and nestled himself in the warmth that awaited him. If Bucky was surprised to have Tony burrow himself into his side, he didn't say so. His arms just wrapped around his shivering form.

"Jesus, it's cold." Tony whined.

Bucky just chuckled as Steve pressed in behind him. Steve raked his fingers through Tony's curls, and Tony melted into the touch. If anyone were to question it he would say he was close to being Little, but he knew it would be a lie. He was fully Big. He was just freaking cold, he told himself, that's all. Tony's eyes closed and they didn't open back up until the sun was shining high overhead. Steve and Bucky however laid there awake reveling in the peaceful moment. They couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but they thought it was the first time Tony had sought out their comfort while Big, even by the cliffside they were pretty sure that he had been in between headspaces when he latched onto Steve. His chest rose and fell evenly, suggesting that he was asleep again. Steve's fingers continued to brush through his hair, and Bucky ran a hand up and down his back.

"Is he fully Big?" Steve questioned.

Bucky shrugged watching Tony fondly.

"Don't know, could be. He's definitely not fully Little."

Steve hummed at that. They watched him for a bit as the night crept on before succumbing to sleep once more.

* * *

Tony straddled the firm body beneath him. His hands slid up the solid chest, tangling in blond strands. The halo of pale gold was soft under his fingers. Hands were running up and down his side and he assumed they belonged to the body under him. He pressed his lips to the soft ones in front of him, his hands untangling to reach in between them. He was hoping to find some relief for the throbbing in his pants, but hands shot out to stop him.

"Let me help you." A voice behind him murmured in his ear.

He moaned as hands slipped under his waist band. He was panting as they worked him, and he could feel kisses being pressed to the back of his neck. He looked down to see blue eyes watching him and leaned back in for a delicious kiss.

* * *

He startled, his eyes snapping open. There was an uncomfortable tightness in his briefs, but he didn't want to acknowledge it. He had a bad feeling about the dream he'd just had. He was fairly certain he'd just awoken from a not-so-appropriate dream about the two men he was currently sleeping next to. He cursed himself under his breath. He really needed to get out of here to deal with his aching member. The problem was he was wrapped up in their arms. Tony wasn't weak per se, but he was no match to the enhanced strength of the former soldiers that were holding him close. He tried to wiggle out of the embrace, only to still when his morning wood brushed against Bucky's crotch. He gasped at the friction and held his breath. Maybe if he stayed still long enough it would just go down on it's own, he thought, knowing how foolish the wish was. There was no way it was going down any time soon, not if he was trapped in between the subjects of his dream.

Tony tried to suppress a moan when Bucky pulled him closer in his sleep, but he couldn't help the low sound of pleasure that escaped him. In Tony's defense it had been months since he'd been with someone else. Now he was no stranger to his own hand, but that was nothing next to the thoughts of the muscular men that were drifting through his mind. Bucky stirred at the sound, his eyes fluttering opening. He looked at Steve first, before his gaze fell to Tony, who's head was farther down the bed than either of them. He was fairly certain this was due to the fact that he was using Bucky's arm as a pillow. Tony flushed bright red when his blue eyes met Tony's gaze.

"Mornin'." He said, his voice rough from just having awoken.

Tony whimpered at the sound, his hips bucking slightly. His eyes widened when Bucky's eyes snapped down to Tony's crotch. Oh shit. Stupid horny body that hasn't been touched in far too long. Bucky raised a brow at him and Tony pressed back into Steve in a futile attempt to put distance between them. He was glad when Bucky didn't comment on the obvious tent in his underwear. He felt very vulnerable under the man's piercing gaze. He also felt ashamed knowing that his body was turned on by two men who were clearly very much in love with each other. He had no intention of coming in between the two, so he just shut his eyes tightly and willed his hard on to go away. Bucky chuckled lightly, but didn't attempt to pull Tony closer to him, which he was very grateful for. When a few minutes passed and the throb turned into an unbearable ache Tony squirmed in Steve's arms.

"Need help." Bucky asked, the amusement evident in his tone.

"Yes." Tony hissed, not enjoying this situation nearly as much.

He tried not to think about Bucky offering to help him in his dream. Bucky pried Steve's arms off of his waist and Tony sat up. He huffed when the blonde's arms almost immediately wrapped around him again, then he gasped. Steve's freakishly large and muscular arm was pressing down on his groin.

"Oh God, Steve. Wake up!" Tony said urgently.

The man grumbled but opened his eyes.

"I'm not your boyfriend, stop clinging to me." Tony snapped.

Steve's eyes widened and his arms pulled away like Tony's words had physically burnt him. Tony groaned when his arm rubbed against his crotch in the process. His eyes hooded over with lust and his hand grabbed at himself squeezing in an attempt to relieve some of the uncomfortable aching. Steve followed the movement before snapping his gaze to Bucky's, who just smirked mischievously back at him.

"You okay, Stark?"

"Shut up, Barnes." Tony practically moaned.

The last thing he needed was for Bucky to open up his mouth. Just the thought of Bucky's mouth had a shiver running down Tony's spine. Steve was fidgeting beside him and Tony noticed how flustered he looked. Tony glared at him.

"Why do you look so embarrassed? You're not even the one having wet dreams about two taken super soldiers." Tony snapped, only realizing what he'd said after the fact.

Bucky barked out a laugh at that and Steve's eyes got impossibly wider.

"Super soldiers?" Bucky asked, highly amused.

"W-what?" Steve sputtered at the same time, coughing a couple of times.

"I think he just admitted to dreaming about us, Stevie." Bucky teased.

"Oh God, just lemme out so I can die of embarrassment in a cold shower."

Steve appeared to be frozen to the bed, staring at Tony like he couldn't believe he'd heard the man right. Bucky just snickered at his partner's dumbfounded expression.

"We could do that or we could lend you a hand. Ever wondered what it would be like to do more than just dream about super soldiers?" Bucky asked, suggestively.

"We're not super soldiers." Steve mumbled sounding deeply embarrassed.

Bucky just rolled his eyes at the comment. Tony glared at Bucky. He didn't appreciate being mocked, then again if Bucky wanted to tease him, Tony certainly knew how to play that game. He put on his most charming smile, twisting his body until he was straddling Bucky's lap. He knew there was a very high potential he would be crossing a line that would lead to very pissed off, very strong men. In Tony's defense he was not currently thinking with his head. Well he was thinking with a head, just not the one on his shoulders. Bucky gulped, his cool façade slipping, as the man he'd been picturing in bed with him and his boyfriend for the last couple of months straddled him with a very suggestive gleam in his eyes. Tony couldn't help but remember how in his dream he'd been in a similar position but with Steve under him.

"Yeah? You think your boyfriend would be okay with you making offers like that?" Tony flirted back, leaning down so his lips were hovering over Bucky's.

"Yeah, I promise he's fine with it." Bucky breathed out, pushing up onto his elbows so their lips brushed together.

Tony pulled away, sending a confused look at Steve. He was surprised to find that the other man didn't seem upset in the slightest, if anything he looked insanely turned on by the scene playing out before him. Tony was a little more than shocked at the revelation. He was expecting to be met with embarrassment or anger, but both men appeared to be in to it. They must not think he was serious Tony thought, or maybe they are really into it. Maybe they liked adding a third every now and again, just to spice things up. Tony's heart twinges at the thought, but then he thought what the hell. It wouldn't be his first threesome, and he couldn't deny he was turned on at the thought of being in between these two.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Tony whispered, turning his eyes back to Bucky.

Bucky smirked at him.

"Wouldn't dream of it, doll."

Tony smirked back at the endearment.

"Fine. Then show me what an enhanced soldier is capable of."

Bucky grinned, shooting Steve a thrilled look, before slamming his lips against Tony's. Tony rolled their hips together moaning at the feeling of his member rubbing against Bucky's hardening one. When Tony broke away he panted, sharing a heated gaze with Bucky, as his hands unbuttoned Tony's jeans. Tony turned his eyes to Steve's and he shivered at the dark gaze that met his. He remembered the way he had met those same eyes in his dream and groaned. He reached out for the other man, pulling him in for a heated kiss as Bucky pulled him out of his jeans. Steve swallowed down his moans as Bucky's hand worked his hard on. This was so much better than his dream.

Tony couldn't deny he'd thought of the two men in a less than friendly way before, but he never considered they'd actually be interested in hooking up. Sure maybe Bucky did that kinda thing back before his army days, but Steve seemed so wholesome. It was hard to imagine him agreeing to this kind of thing. Yet here they were, so clearly Tony had misjudged them. They were clearly more adventurous than he'd considered. He was too caught up in the moment to think about the risks of his actions. Any thoughts of ruining their relationship or the new life he had with them and Sam flew out the window. He probably should have thought this through.

Tony was curled up between the two of them afterwards, panting hard, and feeling like he could easily slip off to sleep again. It was peaceful until he breathed out a question that had both bodies tensing under him.

"Do you guys do this kind of thing often?"

"Do what?" Steve asked, his finger that had been lazily drawing circles on Tony's scarred chest, paused.

"Adding someone."

Tony was thinking that they seemed really comfortable with the idea of sharing and had been quick to jump on the offer. He couldn't help but feel like he'd said something wrong when Steve sat up abruptly. Bucky pulled himself up to frowning.

"I'm not judging or anything. It was great. I just thought, since you were so eager to add me to the equation that you must, you know, have done this before." Tony rushed out in one breath, despite how breathless he felt.

Steve looked hurt and rolled out of bed, shaking his head. Bucky just swore under his breath.

"Stevie! Doll, wait up."

Bucky scrambled over Tony to pull Steve to a halt.

"What? What did I say? I said it was good." Tony was still trying to figure out why they were upset.

"God dammit, Tony. What did you think this was?" Bucky asked frustrated.

Tony furrowed his brows. What did he think this was? What's that supposed to mean?

"What do you mean? We were having fun. What did you think it was?"

"Yeah, we had fun, but what it did mean to you?" Bucky insisted, keeping his hand wrapped around Steve's arm.

Steve was refusing to look at Tony and he couldn't help but feel like he'd seriously misread the situation.

"What? It didn't mean anything." Tony said, oblivious to what the two men were feeling.

It didn't mean anything, did it? They couldn't possibly like someone like Tony.

Steve ripped his arm from Bucky's grasp, storming out of the room. Tony's eyes watered as the door slammed and he cringed away from the all too familiar sound. Bucky rounded on him looking livid, but his gaze softened when tears poured down Tony's cheeks. He sighed, pulling the smaller brunette into his chest, cradling the back of his head with his large hand.

"I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry. I don't know what I did wrong." Tony sobbed out an apology, not understanding what he was apologizing for.

"Shh, it's okay, doll. You didn't do anything wrong, Stevie's just upset. It was all our fault. My fault really. I misread the situation and now you're both hurting because of it."

Tony just cried, his tears soaking into Bucky's t-shirt. Bucky whispered soothing words into his hair as his hand rubbed up and down his back. Tony pulled back just enough to look up at Bucky.

"I don't understand. Tell me what I did wrong? Did he not like it?" Tony asked, feeling hurt and confused and so damn lost.

"Shh, no, of course he did. You didn't do anything wrong, sweetheart. It's just- Stevie and I, we thought maybe you liked us."

Tony furrowed his brows, he did like them. They were his friends. Was the problem that they were friends? He couldn't imagine why that would be a problem. He was friends with Pepper and he had slept with her before. A part of him told him Bucky meant as more than friends, but the voice in his head denied the possibility. Who could possibly want someone like Tony? He was too broken. Sex was one thing, but more than that? Definitely not.

"I do. We're friends, aren't we?"

Bucky sighed, pulling him back into his chest.

"I know. Of course we are." Bucky reassured him.

He stayed in Bucky's embrace feeling safe and secure until Bucky pulled away.

"I should go find Steve. Will you be okay on your own?"

Tony nodded, but he didn't really want to be alone. He was getting way too used to having someone's arms wrapped around him. The thought scared him. Bucky wiped the tears off his cheeks, pressing a kiss to his forehead. There was a sadness in Bucky's eyes, that Tony thought was pain. He didn't want Bucky to hurt and he didn't want him to leave, but he didn't stop him as he walked out the door.

The door shut softly behind him and Tony was left behind. He felt an ache of loneliness deep inside of him. A hole that had existed for as long as he had. He whimpered, sobbing quietly. He didn't know what to do, so he just stood there. He felt so alone, it was miserable. He wanted to pull Bucky back. He wanted to beg him to stay. He wanted to go with him to find Steve and beg him for forgiveness. For what? He wasn't even sure. He felt so confused. What did he do wrong? He must have done something. He always messed everything up. His legs gave out under him and he collapsed to the ground. He pulled his knees into his chest, curling in on himself. Crying was for the weak. Crying was what bad little boys did. Tony was weak and so very bad.

* * *

They had been gone for hours, it was already evening time. Tony had dropped, then come back up and now he was Big and struggling. He thought he understood now. He thought maybe he knew what had happened. He was pacing back and forth in the small living room, Clint on Phil's lap and Natasha curled up next to Bruce. There was also a loveseat, but Tony was too worried that he'd fucked up to sit down. He had thought a lot about what Bucky meant. They thought Tony liked them romantically, like he wanted to be with them. That must have been it. It was the only thing that made any of this make sense.

At first the thought had terrified Tony, well, if he was being perfectly honest it still did. He couldn't help the yearning that he felt at the idea of being theirs though. He did like them, as more than a friend. He just honestly never thought it was an option. Not to mention how terribly afraid of trying to be in a relationship he was. He couldn't do it. He would fuck it up. Wouldn't he?

His mind drifted back to the moment he'd been so close to kissing Steve at the pool, then it wandered back to that first dinner after his time holed up in the lab. It would explain a lot. If Tony was being completely honest, he had seen the signs, he'd just ignored them. He didn't think someone as damaged as him could possibly be with two men like them.

He jumped when the cabin door opened revealing Steve and Bucky. Tony chewed on his lip anxiously. Bucky met his gaze giving him a small smile that seemed so sad that Tony couldn't return it. He could see that Bucky was hurt and it killed him to know he was the cause. Steve didn't even look at him and that was somehow even worse. Tony had already told Bruce and Natasha what happened. Clint was still Little and Phil had taken him outside to run around while they talked. He suspected that Phil was already aware of what had happened, at least to some degree. He wondered how long everyone had known the two men were pining over him, since no one seemed even the slightest bit surprised by it. Phil nudged Natasha and tilted his head towards the door. She rolled her eyes but stood up. Phil carried Clint out of the room and Bruce and Natasha followed. Tony was glad they were giving them some privacy.

Bucky sat down in the loveseat, pulling Steve down with him before he could run off. He definitely looked like he wanted to leave. Tony tried to catch Steve's eyes, but he still wouldn't look at him. Tony narrowed his eyes. A determined look crossed his features and he stomped over to the loveseat. He crossed his arms and huffed when Steve didn't look up at him.

"You can't ignore me forever you know?"

Steve just sent him an unimpressed look before looking down. Tony frowned. He really didn't appreciate being ignored.

"Oh come on. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, but seriously, Bucky offered, so I don't know why I'm getting the silent treatment."

Bucky glared at him, but it lacked any real heat, he mostly just looked sad and Tony sighed. He likes them, they like him, this really shouldn't be so complicated, he thought. Steve's eyes shot up when Tony climbed into his lap.

"Tony, what are you doing?"

"Making sure you can't ignore me. It really pisses me off."

Steve frowned, but his hands still reached out to grab Tony's waist.

"I'm sorry, okay. I didn't realize it meant so much to you. It didn't mean nothing to me. I- you don't mean nothing to me." Tony admitted with a blush.

Steve looked shocked but he grinned up at Tony. Bucky gave him a relieved smile too and Tony blushed under their gaze. Steve's hand cupped his cheek, an awed look on his face.

"Does this mean you want us?"

Tony rolled his eyes, but his blush deepened.

"Sure, whatever." He muttered, embarrassed.

Steve looked like Tony had just offered him the world. Tony just huffed trying to be annoyed. He leaned in to press a sweet kiss to his lips before letting Bucky pull him onto his lap for a decidedly more heated one. He was panting when he pulled away. Tony hadn't realized just how badly he wanted it until now, but he really wanted these two.

* * *

Tony sauntered into the dingy dining room after his shower, his hair still clinging to his forehead. He set one foot on the side of Steve's chair to leverage himself onto the table, settling down in front of him with a foot on either side of his thighs and smirked at Steve's surprised expression. Bucky smirked back at the brunet, grabbing his shirt to pull him in for a kiss. When they pulled back Steve's eyes were blown wide, his pupils dilated until all you could see was a sliver of blue around dark black. His tongue darted out to lick his lip and Tony giggled.

"Daddy, Tony's sittin' on the table. He's not s'pposed to do dat." Clint spoke up frowning at Tony who glared at the little tattle tale.

"Tony, could you get off the table, please?" It was Bruce who asked.

Tony stuck his tongue out at the Little for telling on him and Clint returned the gesture. He rolled his eyes, but dropped to his knees, straddling Steve, with a smile on his lips. Steve's arms wrapped around his waist. Bucky shared a look with Natasha as the pair stared into each others eyes. Tony blushed when Steve didn't drop his gaze and buried his face in the crook of his neck, inhaling the scent of laundry detergent and body wash. His body relaxed as he exhaled and he went limp in Steve's lap.

Natasha pulled a casserole out of the oven and Bucky got up to help her serve up plates. He set two plates in front of Steve, since Tony refused to sit in his own seat. He was still Big, but he only turned around with an immense amount of coaxing on Steve's part. He seemed content to just cling to Steve for the rest of the night. Tony begrudgingly turned to face the table and ate his food slowly. He kept leaning back against Steve's chest and reaching back to wrap an arm around his neck. Sometimes he'd tilt his head back too, pulling Steve in for a kiss. He seemed completely unfazed by their company and almost smug when Bucky raised a questioning brow at him.

"Enjoying couple life, Tony?" Natasha teased.

"Oh fuck off."

"Tony!" Phil scolded.

"Language!" Steve said at the same time.

Tony just rolled his eyes, but he didn't swear again for the remainder of the meal. Phil took Clint upstairs to settle him into bed after dinner and Bruce and Natasha went to wash the dishes. Steve had offered to help, but they waved him off when Tony complained about being abandoned.

"You can't cling to Steve forever." Bucky warned, but he sounded amused.

Steve didn't seem to mind much. He seemed about as content to have Tony in his lap, as Tony was to be there. Bucky didn't really mind it either, he thought they were freaking adorable.

"You wanna bet?" Tony retorted.

Bucky just smirked, shaking his head at the snarky response.

"I think I'll take you up on that. If I win, I get to take you first."

Tony's eyes got wide. He gasped slightly at the predatory look in Bucky's eyes, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. Tony nodded, a light blush on his cheeks. Bucky stalked towards him, putting a hand on either side of the chair back. Tony smirked, then pouted as Bucky ignored him, kissing Steve instead. He made a show of it, their tongues dancing together above Tony's head. The sight had Tony's member jumping in his pants. Bucky climbed on top of them, not breaking the kiss. His knees on either side of the chair as he straddled their laps. His crotch pressed against Tony's eliciting a mewl from him and Tony let his hands slide under Bucky's shirt and run over his abs. Steve groaned into Bucky's mouth, the kiss hot and feverish. Tony enjoyed the view, but he was growing impatient. He slipped one hand out from under Bucky's shirt, in order to press it to the back of his neck.

"Jesus, Barnes, don't be a tease. Kiss me." He demanded.

Bucky pulled away from Steve, who was panting hard, his hands kneading Bucky's ass. Bucky removed his hands from the back of the chair, to tangle them in Tony's hair.

"Whatever you say, doll."

He pressed his lips to Tony's and Tony pressed up into him, rolling his hips. Both men groaned at the feeling and Bucky tugged on Tony's hair, earning a groan in response. They only pulled away when Natasha came in the room to collect the glasses. She just raised a brow at their disheveled appearance and the position they were in, before going back into the kitchen.

"Come on, sweetheart. Sure ya don't wanna leave Stevie's lap and join me in the bedroom?"

Tony's breath hitched at the invitation. He nodded his head eagerly. He kept his arms wrapped around Bucky's neck as he was lifted out of Steve's lap. He was dropped on the bed where Bucky climbed on top of him again. Steve trailed in after them, shutting the door before joining them.

* * *

On the hike back Bucky was decidedly less paranoid, because this time his attention was drawn to the shorter man who was chatting a mile an hour and waving his arms around dramatically. Steve trailed behind them passing conversation back and forth idly with Bruce. Phil was holding Clint's hand securely in his, while Natasha walked next to them, pointing out the different birds and trees to the Little. Phil smiled softly at the boy every time he tried to pronounce one of their names and Natasha praised him for his attempts. When they were out of the woods, Tony was pleased with his ability to distract Bucky from his fears. He was feeling like the best boyfriend ever and he voiced this thought to Steve. The blond man graced him with the biggest grin and he only realized the slip up once they got back to the tower.

He was quick to inform them that he was, in fact, not their boyfriend. Steve just smiled and indulged him by saying they could take him out on a date and see how things went. Tony agreed reluctantly, not wanting them to get the wrong impression. Though they were a little past that now given the way he'd been clinging to the two men like a touch starved fool. If a wrong impression was to be given surely he'd already given it. It's not that he didn't like them. It's just that they have a great thing going and Tony was sure that throwing him into the mix would screw it all up. It was never easy adding a third person to a relationship, but it was even harder when that third person was as broken as Tony.

* * *

It was snowing as Tony looked out of the floor to ceiling windows in his penthouse. He couldn't keep the dopey grin off of his face, even as he worried about what this would mean for his newly found life. He really liked being Sam's Little and he didn't want to jeopardize it, still his heart beat rapidly in his chest and his cheeks glowed. Bucky had suggested they go on a dinner date. That was fine, but Tony insisted on choosing the location and paying for it. Both men protested when he said he would foot the bill, but they gave in eventually. Tony could be very persuasive and there was no way Tony was going to budge, especially since the place he had in mind would easily cost a few hundred dollars for a meal. Of course he planned to reserve a private room too.

Tony had never gone on a real date before. He'd always been more of a one night stand kind of a guy, not that anyone he slept with was interested in Tony as a person. Anyone who did offer to take him on a date Tony turned down. He was sure they were only in it for the money and publicity that came with hanging off of a billionaires arm. The only person he had ever really considered dating was Pepper. They had slept together before, but then she found out Tony was a Little. It wasn't that she had anything against Littles, it's just that relationships between Doms and Littles tended to be particularly challenging. Doms usually have a desire to be in control all of the time and be listened to without question and Pepper was no exception to that rule. Whereas Littles, as much as Tony had denied it at the time, usually needed someone who could be gentle and patient with them.

They did well working together, because Stark Industries needed someone to take charge and make the hard decisions and Tony needed someone like Pepper to keep him on track. There was no doubt for either of them that being in a relationship would have gone south. Tony wouldn't have been able to live up to her expectations of him. When he was Little he was too young to be expected to do much and when he was Big he was way too bratty to comply. Pepper, like most Doms, found it hard to truly understand Littles. She most likely wouldn't have understood why she couldn't demand things of Tony when he was Little, so it was for the best that they never tried.

Tony wanted his first date with Steve and Bucky to be perfect. He was determined to do it right. He would go all out and spare no costs. His men deserved the best. Not that they were his, he told himself. Yet, that voice in his mind said. For once it wasn't warning Tony of future threats or tearing Tony down. This time it reassured Tony that this was happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda feel like this was really rushed. The other much larger part of me is like I'm so ready, give me all of the Stuckony. Idk guys...


	3. Steve's Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really the flu tho guys...
> 
> Also just made a tumblr in case anyone wants to chat about the series, or whatnot. It has nothing on it...
> 
> Went back and added said tumblr to the endnotes of all of my past works, and it fully hit me that I've written 18 of these since I started this not even a month ago guys 
> 
> Like wow
> 
> To think there's still so much more to come...
> 
> 2/14/2021 - I couldn't believe I was on part 18 and now there's 55 parts lol yet there's still so much more to come, how is that even possible??  
> Also that tumblr that was blank is now literally just filled with marvel, mostly Stucky imma be honest, but there's some WinterIron, Stony and Stuckony and other funny avengers shit mixed in there

All three Littles crashed when they returned from their trip to Florida. Steve and Bucky that same evening and Tony showed up the next morning. Sam was glad he'd suggested that Bucky get away, from what he'd heard things had gone really well. He wasn't given explicit details, for which he was grateful, but they were all going on a date. Tony was in charge of planning it. Steve and Bucky didn't seemed thrilled about him paying for it, but they were definitely excited for it.

Bucky was the first to drop. He was cuddled up in Steve's arms who still going on about Tony and how beautiful and amazing the man was. Sam listened amused. He noticed that Bucky went from an active participant to a passive listener in the conversation. At first, Sam was worried that maybe he wasn't as thrilled as Steve or was jealous to here Steve go on and on about Tony, but Sam realized when he started squirming in that tell tale way that Sam was so used to that that wasn't the case. The boy had dropped,but most likely didn't want to tell Sam, because then he'd have to put a pull-up on.

It wasn't that Bucky hated pull ups, but he definitely wasn't a huge fan either. He accepted that they were necessary when he was Little, if somewhat reluctantly, but denied that he needed them when he was Big even if he sometimes wet the bed after a nightmare. Bucky got very upset anytime Sam suggested protection as an adult. He was very adamant that it was one thing for a toddler to wear a pull-up and whole other story for a grown ass man. Sam disagrees, but he wasn't going to push it. Steve never complained about it, so Sam had decided to let it go. Even though he understood why he wore them when he was Little, when he was actually in his headspace he still fought Sam on it sometimes. He was almost always resistant right after dropping, so it didn't surprise Sam that he was trying to not let them know he had dropped.

"Hey, bud. Do you need to go potty?" Sam asked.

Steve paused midsentence, looking down at Bucky. The boy shook his head, but jumped to his feet with a panicked look on his face. Sam followed him as he ran to the bathroom and Steve went to grab him clothes and a pull-up knowing he'd probably need them. Bucky cried when he didn't make it and sobbed in Sam's arms. Sam ignored the wet spot forming on his own clothes as the distraught toddler clung to him. He shot Steve a grateful look when he came in and helped coax Bucky into letting them strip off his soiled clothes. Sam figured now was as good a time as ever to bathe him. He ran the water while Steve soothed Bucky who had now attached himself to him. Bucky calmed down as he sat down in the tub, distracted by his bath toys and Sam had a feeling that Steve was dropping when he kept glancing at the bath crayons like he yearned to get in and draw on the sides of the tub. Sam didn't say anything about it, just kneeled down on the squishy bath mat and played with Bucky.

Steve really wanted to get in. He shifted on his feet thinking about how he didn't work today or the day before and if he dropped now he probably wouldn't tomorrow either. He gave in as he watched Bucky putting his frozen dolls in his boat and push them through the water. Sam glanced over to see Steve was stepping out of his pants and smiled, the boy had definitely dropped. Steve reached for the bath crayons before he was even fully sitting down and immediately set to work. Bucky tilted his head at Steve watching as he drew a tree.

"Dat's coow."

"Thanks, Buck. Imma make a whole forest."

Steve drew a second green tree. Bucky's eyes got big and he gaped at his brother.

"No way!"

"Yup! Just like the forest we hiked through."

"With Tony?"

"Yeah."

"And Nat and Cwint?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"And Phiw and Bwuce?"

"Yeah, that one."

"You make a twail too?"

"Yeah, a trail that goes all the way to the cabin with a mountain and a rive and I'm gonna put a fire outside of the cabin just like the one we roasted marshmallows around."

Sam scrubbed the boys down one at a time, washing the grime off of their bodies and the dirt out of their hair. How they had managed to get so dirty, he had no clue. When he inquired Bucky grinned and said they'd sparred with Natasha. That would explain it. Sam let them continue playing until the water they were sitting in was cold to the touch.

"I wanna watch Owaf." Bucky said as they were sitting around the table eating dinner.

Sam held back an exasperated sigh and Steve groaned. Olaf's Frozen Adventure was a twenty two minute long short film that Bucky had only recently learned about. He had requested to watch it the last three evenings in a row.

"Bucky!" Steve whined.

"Stevie! It's so good!" Bucky insisted.

"Fine, but I wanna watch PJ Masks after." Steve agreed.

Bucky grinned and nodded. Sam was proud at his eldest for compromising. He tried hard to teach them to use their words and work through their problems. They were eating beef stew, Steve happily scooping spoonful's into his mouth. Soup was running down his chin and staining his shirt. The broth spilled over the side of his spoon with each bite, dripping on the table as he pulled the spoon to his mouth. Sam was sure it was dripping in his lap too and he sighed. He probably should have waited until after dinner to give them a bath. Bucky was no better. Half of his broth was in a puddle around his bowl, because he kept sticking his hands into his soup and plucking out chunks of carrots and celery. Sam was used to the routine by now. He didn't even bother trying to stop it. He wasn't concerned about the Little not getting enough fruits and vegetables, since he drank smoothies everyday and eagerly slurped down squeezy pouches.

It used to be something they fought over. Sam had been very concerned when he first took the two boys in and realized Bucky refused to eat fruits or veggies when he was Little. Steve told him it was something he had constantly fought with the toddler over and had since given up on. The poor kid had been at a loss for how to get Bucky to eat them. Sam didn't have any experience with it either, so he tried the only things he could think of. First, he insisted that Bucky eat his fruits and vegetables before he got anything else. That backfired bigtime and led to epic tantrums followed by the boy refusing to eat at all. After a few days Sam was worried sick and gave in. Next, he tried not letting him leave the table until he ate them. That just led to Bucky spending all day at the table and Sam abandoned the plan after an awful week of Bucky spending his days sulking over a cold plate of food. Sam was fed up at that point and started putting the boy in timeout for refusing to eat them, but Sam just felt like an awful parent for doing it. It didn't even work, because the boy still wouldn't eat any fruits or vegetables. Sam then switched tactics and tried rewarding him for trying the foods he didn't want to eat. It worked sometimes but so inconsistently that after a couple of weeks passed, Sam was still worried about the Littles diet.

He finally turned to Phil, hoping he'd have some incite since he also had a stubborn toddler. Phil recommended calling the lady that had helped him with Clint. The Littles therapist, Mrs. Kaplan told Sam that he was making too big of a deal of it and he needed to relax. This frustrated Sam, because clearly the professional didn't understand the severity of the situation. According to Steve the problem had been going on for years and he tried to explain this again, thinking he must not have made the problem clear to her, but she reassured him that she did understand and had a lot of experience with Littles who didn't want to eat healthy foods. The therapist went on to tell him that it usually could be drawn back to the way the Little's parents handled meal time when they were growing up. She reiterated that Sam needed to not fight about it with Bucky since he was most likely resisting, because that's what he was used to. She suggested fruit smoothies with some combination of greens, celery, and hemp seeds, and told him to add two different green powders, Hawaiian spirulina and barley grass juice powder.

Sam was skeptical at first. He didn't think Bucky would drink a green smoothie, but he told Steve about it and Steve being the health nut he is thought the idea was great. He mentioned how it wasn't much different from the protein shakes they'd had during their time over seas. So, they all started making smoothies together in the morning and as it turned out, Bucky was more than willing to drink a green smoothie. Sam was astonished and thrilled. When he asked Bucky about it, the kid just said it was like drinking juice. Phil also recommended applesauce and squeezy pouches, both of which he gave to Clint. Ever since then, Sam stopped worrying about Bucky's eating habits and meal time became a peaceful affair. Steve and Sam talked about it when Steve was Big too. Sam explained to him what the therapist had said about it probably having to do with Bucky's childhood.

Steve had never viewed it that way before, but he said it made a lot of sense since Bucky's dad would literally force fruits and vegetables into his mouth and hold his hand over his mouth until he swallowed it. Sam was appalled to hear that and it made him feel even worse about the way he'd been handling the situation. Steve reluctantly told Sam that he didn't like to talk about it, because he'd seen Bucky choking and gagging on food while his dad held him down. Steve thought that since Bucky had never grown up with a blender that he probably didn't have the same negative associations with smoothies as he did with chunks of fruits and vegetables. So when Bucky pushed his dripping carrot and celery chunks into Steve's waiting hand Sam didn't say anything about it. Steve popped the chunks in his mouth and Sam just asked Bucky what he wanted to do tomorrow. He knew the boy would drink a smoothie in the morning, so there was no reason for Sam to be concerned. Sam wiped them down as best he could and changed them into their pyjamas after dinner. He encouraged them to try to go potty before they scrambled up onto the couch.

"Time for bed boys." Sam told them, switching off the TV as PJ Masks ended.

"Aah, but Sammy!"

"Don' wanna! No' s'eepy!"

Sam ignored their whining scooping Bucky up in his arms. The toddler pouted, but accepted his bear when Steve offered it to him. Steve was also pouting. He huffed, grabbing his blankie and followed Sam into their nursery. Steve crawled into bed and Sam patted Bucky's bum to see if he was dry before sitting down on the bed. The toddler jumped off his lap and ran to grab a book bringing it back to his Caregiver. Sam pulled the boy back into his lap. Opening up the book he began to read about the flamingo that was sad. Both boys were still awake when the book ended, but they were yawning and rubbing at their eyes. Sam smiled at the sleepy boys and tucked Bucky in next to Steve. He pressed a kiss to both of their heads and clicked on their night light.

"Want green stars, Sammy." Steve said.

Sam clicked the button two more times until the stars displayed on the ceiling were green. Steve smiled sleepily up at him, and Sam smiled fondly at the little boy.

"Thanks." Steve said.

"Yeah, danks, Sammy." Bucky agreed, tucking his head into Steve's side.

Sam couldn't help walking over to their bed again to press another kiss to Bucky's head.

"Sweet dreams, baby boy."

"No' baby." Came the expected response.

"I know. You're a big boy."

"Yeah, I big boy." Bucky said, yawning.

Sam smiled at the adorable toddler. He brushed his fingers through Steve's hair giving him another kiss too.

"Night, little one."

"Night, Sammy."

They slept peacefully through the night, but the sun was creeping over the horizon and settling in the sky when Steve woke up suddenly to an uncomfortable feeling in his tummy and shot up out of bed. Bucky stirred from his slumber calling out to Steve. He didn't reply as he ran to the bathroom making it to the toilet before he began throwing up. He puked until he was dry heaving. His body was trembling as he gripped the toilet bowl and there was a horrible pounding in his head.

Bucky was worried and got up, his bare feet pitter pattering across the hardwood floors of the hall way. The bathroom door was open, so he peeked inside. Steve was kneeling in front of the toilet, his head resting on the seat. His hair was sticking to him, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Bucky's lip quivered, his eyes going wide at the sight.

"Stevie!" Bucky sobbed, tears stinging his eyes.

Steve just groaned in response and Bucky rushed to Sam's room throwing the door open.

"Sammy, wake up! Wake up!"

Sam was startled awake by Bucky's scared voice calling out to him. He pushed the blankets off, standing up. He knew something was wrong by the distraught look on his Little.

"What's wrong, Bucky?" Sam asked, his eyes scanning the boy for a cause to his distress.

"Somefin's w'ong wif Stevie, Sammy. He don' wook so good." The toddler managed to get out, between sobs.

His eyes were wide and tears were starting to fall, rolling down his cheeks and dropping off his chin.

"Where is he?"

"Bafwoom."

Sam nodded and scooped up Bucky in his arms. He hurried towards the bathroom, his steps faltering as he took in the pitiful sight of his kid hunched over the toilet bowl. Sam felt sick looking at him. He pushed down the horrible feeling churning in his stomach. Setting Bucky down, he squatted down next to Steve.

"Hey, buddy. Can you look at me?"

All he got in response was a pained groan and Sam felt panic threatening to overtake his sense of reason. The man had seen people die before his eyes, but the sight of his Little out of it and in pain had him unraveling at the seams. Sam took a shuddery breath trying to calm his nerves.

"Bucky, go grab my phone off of my nightstand."

He nodded and turned on his heels. Sam brushed his fingers through Steve's sweaty hair and braced himself for the worst. Bucky returned, handing the phone to Sam. Sam grabbed it, calling Phil, impatient as the phone rang. Phil finally answered after three devastatingly long rings.

"Phil?" Sam said urgently.

"I'm here. What's wrong?" Phil said, his tone serious.

"It's Steve. I don't know what's wrong, probably the flu."

"Want me to send someone to check on him?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"I'll see who's Big and call you back."

"Thanks, Phil."

Sam hung up, turning his attention back to Steve. Bucky was still crying, looking scared as he watched Sam pull Steve into his arms. Steve groaned again as he was jostled. Sam ran the bath water cradling Steve to him. He pulled his phone back out when it rang.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Simmons will be there in ten. Hold tight."

Sam sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Phil. Really, you're a life saver."

"Don't mention it. Take care of your boy, Sam. She'll bring Bucky back with her after she looks at Steve."

Sam thanked him again before hanging up. He didn't know what he'd do without his friends. Sam was just turning off the running water when the door bell rang. He cursed as Steve sobbed, clutching his head at the load sound. When he pulled the apartment door open Sam did a double take. It wasn't Jemma like he was expecting. It was Tony. There was a man Sam didn't know with him and Sam's heart nearly stopped.

"Hi, I'm Scott. I found your boy wandering around. He looked lost and when I asked him where his Caregiver was he gave me your address."

Tony's eyes were red like he'd been crying and his thumb was in his mouth. Sam just stared at the man and then at Tony. He was still in shock when Jemma came up behind them a minute later.

"Tony?" She questioned, looking at the stranger holding his hand.

"Um, well, like I was telling your partner, I found him wondering around lost and brought him back here." The man said.

Tony looked away shyly, fidgeting nervously. He looked so uncertain and Sam snapped out of the stupor he was in.

"Sorry, um thank you. I'll take him, just uh, come on, Tony."

Scott frowned and looked like he was about to protest when Bucky burst through the door. He wrapped his arms around the baby and squeezed him tight. Tony's eyes got big, but then he melted into his big brothers arms. Scott relaxed at the sight, stepping back.

"Tony, somefin's w'ong wif Stevie." Bucky sobbed.

Tony snapped his eyes to the boy in Sam's arms.

"It's okay, boys. Your big brother's going to be just fine. Dr. Simmons has come to make him all better." Jemma reassured the Littles.

Sam shot her a grateful look as she ushered them inside.

"Thank you so much for bringing Tony home. I was expecting to see Jemma so I was shocked to see you guys instead." Sam explained.

"Of course, no worries."

"Sam Wilson." Sam said reaching his hand out.

Sam didn't know why Tony was wandering around alone and Little, but he was really grateful this man had found him and not some creep that would hurt his boy.

"Scott Lang." The man said, shaking the outstretched hand.

"I need to go, but I really do appreciate your help, Scott."

Jemma told Sam she was sure it was just the flu and to keep Steve comfortable and give him lots of fluids and things like bread, rice, crackers or soup in small portions until he was feeling better. Sam thanked her profusely for her help. He hugged Bucky and Tony and Jemma took them back with her. Phil's apartment was only about ten minutes away on foot so Sam wasn't worried about them walking. Jemma had helped bundle the boys up nice and warm before taking them out into the cold early December weather. Sam scooped Steve up off the couch and carried him back into the bathroom and ran the hot water for another minute to heat the bath back up. Steve whined when he was laid in the water. His head falling back so it was leaning against the cold tiled wall. The boy was flushed but he was shivering. He sighed as the heat of the water wrapped around him like a warm blanket hugging him. The warm water relaxed his stomach muscles, soothing the aches, and alleviating some of the nausea.

Sam was careful to pull him back out before the water cooled and wrapped him up in a large, thick towel. He used another towel to dry his hair thoroughly. He carried the Little into his room instead of the nursery laying him down under the covers. Sam tucked the blankets snug around the poor boy. Steve's eyes were glazed over and his breathing was shallow. Sam tried to quench the panic that wanted to take a hold of him. He grabbed a packet of crackers and retrieved Steve's blankie, setting the crackers on the bedside table and tucking his blankie into his arms. Sam sighed, trying to reign in the fear he felt when Steve didn't even acknowledge his presence or the fuzzy blanket that he was so attached to. Sam slid under the covers on the other side of the bed pulling Steve into him. The boy shivered in his arms despite the thick covers and heated apartment and Sam swallowed resting his chin on Steve's head. He desperately wanted his kid to be okay.

It was so rare for Steve or Bucky to get sick. It had only happened a handful of times since the serum that was used to enhance them and only one of those times had been during Sam's time as their Caregiver. That time it had also been Steve who had always had a poor immune system growing up. Sam felt fear creep up inside of him at the thought of the nights his Little had spent throwing up until he had nothing inside of him, shivering as though he were frozen in ice, gasping for air as it escaped him, and laying in sweat soaked pyjamas. It had been an awful experience for all of them. and Sam did not want a repeat performance. He was at least glad that Bucky wasn't here to witness it this time around.

Jemma held both boys hands as they walked down the sidewalk, crossing a couple of intersections before arriving at the agency owned apartment building. She had called Phil before they left to let him know Tony was coming too. The Littles were both scared and clutched her hands tightly. Clint ran up to them when they walked into the apartment thrilled that they were there, but he stopped when he saw their faces and his lip trembled at the fearful expressions his friends wore.

"Daddy!" He cried out.

Phil practically ran out of the kitchen and scooped up the toddler in his arms.

"Oh, don't cry, little bird, it's okay." Phil reassured the boy.

May came in and helped Jemma take off Tony and Bucky's outer layers and boots while Phil rocked Clint in his arms rubbing circles on his back until he had relaxed. His head was resting on his daddy's shoulder and he slipped his thumb in his mouth.

"Alright, well I have to go to work but let me know if Sam has anymore concerns about Steve. Bye, kiddos." Jemma said.

"I know you boys have had a rough morning, but why don't we go grab some breakfast. Phil made pancakes." May told the boys.

Clint perked up, his head lifting as he looked at his daddy.

"Pancakes?"

"Yup, come on. Let's go get some before they're gone."

Bucky grabbed Tony's hand pulling the baby along as he followed the adults into the kitchen. Skye, Leo, and Grant were already seated at the counter. They each had a plate in front of them. May was pulling out more plates and stacking pancakes on them. Phil set Clint down on a stool next to Leo and Bucky hopped up next to him on the last stool. Tony looked at the taken stools and felt tears pricking his eyes. He'd gotten lost trying to find a bagel shop this morning, was brought to Sam's by a stranger, found out Steve was sick, and then Jemma brought him here. Tony had never even been here before. He was uncertain and scared and he didn't like it one bit. He just wanted to go home and be with Sam and make sure Steve was okay. Phil came over and scooped Tony up. Clint glanced back at them, but didn't say anything.

"Good morning, Tony. I hear you had quite the adventure today. It probably made you really hungry, huh?" Phil asked.

Tony nodded his head, because he was really hungry. He never found the bagel shop and his tummy was all rumbly. Phil smiled softly at him.

"Then let's get some food in you, little one."

Phil grabbed a plate from May, the pancakes on it were cut up into bite size pieces with syrup on them. Phil set Tony on the counter, opening up the drawer right next to him. He pulled out a fork and shut the drawer. Phil stood there in front of Tony and fed him bites until the baby turned his head away and May helped wash up Bucky and Clint in the sink when they finished until their hands were no longer sticky. The older Littles had already cleared their plates and washed up.

* * *

"Want to play with me, Tony?" Leo asked the baby.

Tony nodded his head eagerly. He really liked Leo. He'd never spent that much time with him before, but Bruce talked about him sometimes and Tony was starting to realize why. Leo was very smart. Maybe not as much of a genius as Tony, but that wasn't his fault. Very few people could match Tony's intelligence. Bruce was definitely one of those people. Still, Tony admired Leo's wicked fast mind, even as a Little he was all about science and engineering. Earlier in the day Tony had watched Leo spending half an hour assembling a two hundred and sixty two piece 3D model of a cross country jeep. Tony had been fascinated with the way the older boy screwed together the metal pieces. He hadn't been allowed to help because May said it had too small of pieces for babies. Tony was not happy to hear that, but he didn't complain too much. May set him up in a booster chair, that did less to boost you up to the table and more to strap you to the chair. That way he could sit at the other end of the table and observe Leo with out May worrying about him getting too close to the tiny screws.

"Want to do a puzzle?" Leo asked, pulling Tony into his Little room.

Leo and Jemma had a lot of things in there that Tony wasn't supposed to touch. Tony didn't mind it too much, because not even Clint and Bucky were allowed to touch a lot of this stuff. At least, not without May or Phil there to supervise. Clint had told Tony about the time Leo and Jemma made a model of a volcano with him and they'd all gotten lectured about doing it without permission. Leo and Jemma had also been warned of the dangers of having such young Littles doing science projects without proper supervision and now they had to do all of their projects in the craft corner. It was in the living room so May could easily keep an eye on them. That's where Leo had been set up when he was making his metal jeep. Leo pulled a couple of puzzles off the shelf.

"I have these ones to do with Clint and Bucky. They're wooden puzzles. See?"

Leo held them out for Tony to see. One had the alphabet in primary colors. There was one with farm animals on it, and another one that was a map of the United states.

"Let's take these out to the crafts table."

Tony followed behind the boy toddling his way down the hall. May came over and helped Tony into the booster seat. The puzzles were made for ages one and up, so all of the pieces were large and chunky with little handles on them. Leo helped him do the map puzzle, it was the trickiest one. When all of the pieces were removed they were left with just the outline of the US. Tony picked up on it quickly though. He might have been Little, but he'd been taught all of the states when he was a toddler. Howard had always expected Tony to know these kinds of things. Leo praised him for remembering the locations of the states and encouraged him to start with the ones around the perimeter first hat way it would be easier to put the inner states into the right places. The hardest part for Tony was not bumping the pieces out of place. Leo helped him a lot with that.

Leo was so impressed with Tony's skills and pulled out a large floor puzzle that had twenty pieces. Tony was a bit too clumsy for that one, but he sat on the floor and watched as Leo put it together and Bucky and Clint came over and joined him. When it was done they had an array of dinosaurs displayed on the floor. Tony was able to help put the pieces back in the box and he felt proud of himself when he received praise from all three of the older boys for helping out. They did a construction puzzle next and a space puzzle and though Tony wasn't much help he liked the way they pointed out different things to him, telling him the names of construction trucks, dinosaurs and planets. Tony already knew a lot of them, but he couldn't pronounce most of them. His tongue stumbled over the large words and he felt embarrassed. He still received a lot of praise for trying to repeat the names and it made his cheeks burn even hotter. He felt that familiar sense of pride swelling up in his chest, as the older boys and May told him he was doing a really good job over and over again. He was pretty sure that he hadn't done anything all that impressive so he didn't fully understand the praise, but it still made him happy to hear it.

Eventually, Clint and Bucky lost interest in the floor puzzles and dragged out duplos instead and they invited Tony to join and helped him to make spaceships. They even made him a large Helicarrier and Clint gave him people to put on it, the toddler told him they were agents. Tony felt very big while playing with Clint and Bucky. He had been very big all day and the big kids could tell he was big, because they kept letting him play with them, even Leo who was really big. Grant and Skye spent a lot of time in their room and weren't around much. Tony peered in at one point and saw them playing videos games. He thought it looked like fun, but he didn't think he could play them. His thumbs would probably fumble all over the buttons and be unable to control the joysticks so he wasn't offended when they didn't invite him to join. He was thrilled when they let him sit next to them and watch though. They were playing a racing game and shooting turtle shells at other racers. Tony didn't think it was very logical since he couldn't imagine the small vehicles could store that many shells in them, but Grant and Skye seemed to enjoy it so Tony didn't point out the flaws to them.

* * *

Steve was still sick when May walked them back home late that evening. They had stayed later than Bucky and Steve usually would and had been there all the way through dinner time so it was right before bed when they got home. Bucky was tired and cranky and Tony wasn't much better. They weren't very happy about having to walk through the cold in their tired states. May just hugged them and told them they'd done a really good job and were really big. Sam gave them big hugs too. They'd really missed him and he'd really missed them too and it made Tony feel all warm and fuzzy inside when Sam told them just how much he'd missed them.

Bucky skipped his bath that night. Tony had still never gotten a bath from Sam. After Tony freaked out at the pool Sam had decided not to bring up bath time. So Tony would get washed down with a cloth and wait on the bath mat while Steve and Bucky got their bath. Sometimes Bucky would try to get Tony to play with him, but Tony was wary of getting splashed so he always shook his head.

Sam laid the two boys down in their bed, and tucked them in, but he didn't linger. The Caregiver was quick to get back to the sick Little in his bed. Steve still wasn't doing well and Sam was worried about him. The boy had barely eaten and the little that he did eat he couldn't keep down. He had been shaky and out of it all day, had broken out in a high fever around midday and had been hacking and coughing ever since. Sam had called Phil and Jemma was sent back over. Sam felt bad about bothering her again especially at work, but he was insanely scared for his little boy. Jemma told him she was happy to help out, but her diagnosis wasn't much different this time around. She confirmed he was running a high fever and his flu symptoms were pretty extreme but that aside from that there wasn't much else to do. Sam had already given him cough medicine and Tylenol and Jemma was reluctant to give the Little anything stronger than that. She told Sam to wait until tomorrow and if he got any worse, she'd reconsider.

* * *

Thankfully in the morning Steve woke up feeling better. He wasn't himself yet, but the majority of his symptoms were gone, leaving him with a queasy feeling in his stomach and a runny nose to accompany his cough. The fever had broken, the shaking had stopped and he was able to hold down some stew. Sam was relieved. He had already called in to get the day off. He didn't regret it. Steve still wasn't one hundred percent and Sam wasn't ready to be away from the boy yet. He wanted to be there in case something went wrong. It didn't though.

Tony and Bucky went to Phil and May's again, Phil was the one at home with them today. He brought them home in the evening after dinner, but a little bit earlier than the day before. Sam was grateful, because it gave him a chance to squeeze in bath time. Steve had already had plenty of baths since he had thrown up on himself several times the day before. So Sam didn't bother bathing him. Steve slept in Sam's bed again that night and was already tucked in and fast asleep when the two boys arrived home.

Bucky unsurprisingly grabbed his bucket of Frozen dolls as soon as he was seated. Sam opened the lid for him and Bucky pulled the dolls out, ditching the bucket, and tossing it back into the larger bucket of bath toys, telling Sam that Tony didn't like that one. Sam smiled at the considerate gesture coming from the toddler. It wasn't always easy for Bucky to think about what other people wanted or their feelings when he was Little. It came with the territory, Sam supposed. Toddlers didn't always quite grasp the concept of sharing or that the world was larger than just them.

Tony seemed to see this for the kind gesture it was because he edged himself closer to the bath and stuck the tips of his fingers in the warm water, just barely grazing the surface. He glanced up at Sam and then at Bucky. Sam didn't say anything, pretending not to notice. Bucky grinned but followed suit and kept playing with his dolls. Tony pushed his hand farther under the water. He twirled it around a few times and giggled when it made a small tornado.

"In?" He asked Sam, pulling his hand out.

"Do you want to get in with Bucky?" Sam asked him casually, not wanting make a big deal out of it.

If he acted too surprised or nervous the baby might shy away. Sam had to school his expression because he really hadn't expected Tony to want to take a bath.

"In." He told his Caregiver with a nod.

Sam smiled at the young Little and picked him up placing him in the tub. Tony looked nervous at first, but he didn't ask to get out. Bucky offered him his Elsa doll and Tony took it. He held the doll in his hand and watched warily as Bucky made his Anna doll swim. Sam watched Tony carefully to make sure he caught any signs of distress. The baby was tense, but still didn't make a move to get out so Sam didn't say anything about it.

He didn't want to leave him in for too long since doing so would probably be pushing his luck. So Sam wet a wash cloth and squirted some coconut scented baby wash onto it. He lathered up the baby, getting him all soapy. Tony stiffened when Sam got done, expecting him to go for his hair next, but when Sam started scrubbing Bucky instead he relaxed. Sam pulled the plug when they were both clean. He wrapped up Tony first, pulling him out and setting him down on the ground before wrapping a towel around Bucky too. He helped both boys brush their teeth and led them into the nursery to get dressed. Bucky crawled into Sam's lap with Bucky Bear handing him Goodnight Moon as he was putting them to bed. Tony curled up next to them with his puppy in his lap. As Sam was finishing up the story Bucky was saying goodnight to all the things in their room. He was currently wishing the bear in his arms a goodnight.

"Goodnigh', Bucky Bear."

Sam thought it was pretty adorable that his bear was named after him. He knew it was because the bear was supposed to represent Bucky. He had gifted it to Steve before they departed. That way his boyfriend could hold him close even when they were far apart. Sam thought it was a sweet sentiment. He also found it ridiculously cute that the toddler became so attached to the bear when they came back home. Bucky turned to Tony and opened his mouth, but shut it again. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Sam wondered what the small boy was thinking.

"Wha's yo puppy's name?" He asked the baby.

Tony blinked at him and looked down at his stuffie. He thought about it for a second. The words a young French mom had spoken to her baby when he was sitting at a café in France came to him. He remembered the way the woman had pointed out a puppy, not unlike Tony's, that had floppy ears and brown fur. He recalled what the woman had called the stuffed animal in the babies arms too. Tony had felt weird watching the display of affection as the mother interacted with her child. It reminded him too much of the way his own mom had treated him when he was young.

"C'est mon doudou." The words rolled easily off of Tony's tongue and felt natural even though he didn't speak the language often.

It wasn't the only language Tony was fluent in. He spoke quite a few. It was essential when you were a business man and helped him immensely when he went overseas, but Sam and Bucky looked astonished. They didn't say anything. Tony just shrugged, because he didn't even say anything really impressive. He did string together a whole sentence which wasn't that common for him when he was Little. He thought the most shocking part for them was that he'd spoken a foreign language. He was still Little, but he thought he was closer to two right now. Tony thought for a minute trying to form a sentence in English.

"'Is name's Toutou." Tony decided, his words slow but understandable.

No one said a word for a moment and Tony started to squirm, wondering if he had done something wrong by speaking French or if maybe they didn't like the name, then Bucky spoke up.

"Tutu?" He asked, "'S a bawewina?"

Tony shrugged again.

"I think that's a great name, Tony." Sam said, his shock fading.

Bucky still looked confused but nodded in agreement anyways. Tony blushed at the praise, feeling pride swelling in his chest.

"Yeah, good name, Tony. Goodnigh', Tutu."

"Danks. Goodnigh' Bucky Bea'. Wuv ya." Tony said, his tongue stumbling over words that he knew he should be able to pronounce properly.

Howard would be angry if he heard the way Tony was talking, but his father wasn't here. Sam never corrected his speech so Tony thought it was fine. He leaned over and kissed the bears head earning a nod of approval from Bucky. Tony blushed and kissed Bucky on the cheek. Bucky's eyes were round and he blushed bright red too returning the gesture. Sam looked amused. He lifted Bucky off of his lap, tucking him under the covers and pulled the covers over Tony too, before pressing kisses to their heads.

"Night boys. Sweet dreams."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just wanted to say that in this story Steve and Bucky were both tested on in the army and given a serum to enhance them, but they're not technically super soldiers in the sense that we're used to. 
> 
> They do have increased strength and endurance, and an improved immune system, but they don't heal insanely fast or have an insanely increased metabolism.
> 
> Also Bucky was never taken by hydra, but he was subjected to torture when he and the rest of the 107 was captured by the Soviets.
> 
> Just to clear things up for anyone who might be confused about all of that.
> 
> Tony chose to name his puppy toutou, which is just French baby talk for puppy lol I feel like that's pretty normal for babies to have stuffies named like puppy or teddy or kitty ya know
> 
> C'est mon doudou - he's my (stuffie, blankie, etc.) Doudou usually refers to a child's comfort item, specifically one that they sleep with.
> 
> Throwing French in there kinda just happened on a whim. I recently read about polyglots in the MCU, trying to find out if Bruce knows Russian, which I couldn't find any information on, but I did find out that Tony speaks multiple languages, which makes sense, and French was one of the languages listed, so yeah
> 
> Thanks for the support guys! You're all amazing❤
> 
> As always thanks for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting!
> 
> You can always chat with me about the series on my tumblr @buckybeardreams


	4. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Steve, and Bucky go on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't actually gonna post this today, but I finished editing it so I figured why not

Tony had it all planned out. They were going to a fancy restaurant that would surely cost Tony a pretty penny, to him it really wouldn't be like losing more than a penny on the sidewalk. Tony could splurge on a couple thousand dates before it even became noticeable and even then, it wouldn't really put a dent in his wallet. Metaphorically speaking, because he didn't keep cash on him. That's what his master card was for. Tony had asked Pepper's advice and they settled on a restaurant with some of the most expensive menu items you could find in New York. Why? Well, it was quite simple. Steve and Bucky deserved the best. Also, this was their first date with Tony and he was determined to make it perfect. Tony didn't do dating, but if he was going to he was going to do it right. He had JARVIS book a reservation and get them a private room. No need to sit with all of the common riff raff when you're dating a billionaire.

The days leading up to the date were great. They seemed to spend all of there time together, Big or Little. Well, not literally, but it was pretty close. Tony had no qualms, no regrets. That is he didn't until the actual day of the date arrived. The morning dragged on impossibly slow as Tony fretted over every tiny little detail of his plan, even though the reservation was in place and there was nothing to fret about. He still had JARVIS check the reservation, then double and triple check, just to be certain it was all good.

In the hours leading up to the date, he spent copious amount of time in front of the mirror worrying over every tiny little detail of his body. It was almost as if he'd forgotten that they'd already seen him naked on multiple occasions. Even before they had sex they'd changed his diaper, but Tony tried not to think about that. It just made him want to hide under a rock like Patrick from Spongebob. Clint had shown him that one, but Phil didn't seem to be a huge fan and switched them to Octonauts after two episodes.

He tried on every suit he owned and showed them off to Pepper, who came over to help him choose an outfit. He felt like a lovesick teenage girl going on her first ever date. He tried not to think too much about the fact that this was technically his first ever date. That just led him back to the whole living under a rock for the rest of his God forsaken life thing. He even video chatted with Rhodey to get his opinion. The man was completely useless. He told Tony he looked great in everything. So not helpful.

It was approaching the three hour mark and they had gone through his entire collection four times over. Pepper listened to him critique every outfit, drank wine while he went over the pros and cons of each one, before eventually pointing out in exasperation that Tony had all of his suits tailored to fit him. After everything they went through, the consensus was both of his friends thought he looked great in everything. Now usually that would totally boost his ego, but today it just infuriated him. He was absolutely convinced that there was some flaw to each and every suit. Maybe he was the flaw.

Usually Tony liked to remark that he was flawless and though some agreed his appearance was in fact flawless, such as the the people that put him on the cover of magazines and the ones that wanted in his pants, many people also agreed, that Tony had some character flaws like being a little too self absorbed or having too large of an ego. Often times the people who wrote the articles that were inside of those magazines he adorned the front of seemed to feel that this was the case. Now Tony was wondering if they were all right. Was Tony in fact a billionaire playboy who would never find love, because the only person he truly loved was himself? That couldn't be right though, could it? Maybe he couldn't be loved, but he certainly didn't love himself. He loved to pretend he was full of himself, while secretly doubting every little thing he did or said.

So, when the clock told him his dates would be arriving any minute he started to freak out. He was trying hard to hold it together. He was also failing epically. He finished the bottle of wine, drinking right out of the bottle like a heathen. To say the least Tony was nervous. He wanted everything to be perfect. He wanted a guarantee that this would all work out in the end. He wanted to know for sure that they loved him. _Love_ , he thought bitterly. How could he want love from two men he wasn't really even with. He wasn't with them, not yet, although they seemed to think otherwise. They had made it very clear that they already considered him theirs.

There had been no shortage of cuddling and kisses and hot passionate sex since their hiking trip. It seemed that every moment they spent together Big they were touching each other. Even if that just meant a graze of a knuckle across cheekbone or fingers combing through strands of hair. When they were Little they were constantly cuddling and holding hands. It wasn't sexual, but it was obvious that they were very attached to each other and it had only been a week. Christmas was just right around the corner now. Steve and Bucky were talking nonstop about the holiday, about decorating and drinking hot cocoa, about Santa and presents and snowmen. Tony was excited about it all, but he was also scared.

What if their date went badly? What if they decided they didn't want him? What if this ruined everything and he lost Sam because of it? Tony didn't know what he'd do without a Caregiver.

He'd survived just fine on his own after Obie, not that Obie was a good example of a Caregiver. He wasn't even technically a Caregiver. He was a Dom and an asshole one for that matter. It was different now. Before he didn't know what he was missing. Before he was used to suppressing his Little side. Now he needed it. He wanted it. He wanted his family. Wanted his Caregiver and his brothers. He didn't want to mess this up. Oh god, he didn't want that.

His breath was coming fast, and his head was spinning. His chest was tight and he grasped at it, clutching at his shirt. He didn't know what he was doing. They said they wanted him, told him they liked him, loved him. Was it too soon for them to love him? Was it too soon for him to feel love for them? Was love that feeling that rose in his chest when they smiled affectionately at him and pulled him in close, wrapping their arms around him? Was that what love felt like? He thought it was, but he wasn't so sure right now. He wasn't sure of anything in this moment.

JARVIS announced their arrival and Tony fought to even out his breathing. He wanted this night to be perfect, but it hadn't even started and he was already ruining everything. He needed to pull it together. The elevator doors opened and Steve and Bucky stepped into the penthouse, both looking dashing in the suits they had on. Everything inside of him screamed at him to go to them, screamed at him that they were safe. Just like when he'd been in the pool and Steve had been his safety or when they were on that cliff. Both of these men were safe and comfort and home.

Tony sucked in a shuddering breath and pushed himself off of the counter he hadn't even realized he was leaning against. As he approached them his world narrowed in on them. Bucky flashed a charming smile and Steve looked just about as nervous as Tony felt. The thought was a reassuring one. At least he wasn't the only one scared to death. His breathing was evening out, air filling his lungs as he got closer to them. The moment felt like an eternity, but in reality it only took him a few seconds to cross the length of the room.

"Hey, Tony." Steve said, his voice soft and sweet.

Tony practically melted at the sound.

"Ready for the night of your life?" Bucky asked cheekily.

Tony smirked at that. Yeah, he definitely loved them. He found it hard to remember why he'd been so scared only minutes earlier now that they were standing here in front of him. His arms wrapped around Bucky's waist, pulling the man into him. Bucky chuckled and hugged him tight. The steady rhythm of Bucky's beating heart was like an anchor, pulling him out of his head and grounding him in the world.

"What's up, Tony? What are you thinking, doll? Hm?"

Bucky's hands automatically started combing through Tony's hair and he sighed. This was everything. The warmth of a body wrapped around him. The intimate touches that were full of love. It wasn't about sex, though the sex was great. No, this was so much more than that. This was love. Tony felt in that moment that he could tell them anything and it would be okay. He didn't have to pretend. He didn't have to lie. They already knew all of his secrets.

"I was scared." He admitted, slipping his arms up around Bucky's neck.

Bucky squeezed him and buried his face in Tony's neck. Everything was okay now though. The only thing missing was Steve.

"I'm not scared anymore." He murmured.

Steve pressed in behind him, his arms wrapping around Bucky and hugging the two men against his chest.

"I'm glad, love." Steve whispered in his ear and Tony shivered at the feeling of his breath hot on his neck.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to tell us how you feel, Tony. You can tell us anything even if it means telling us you're scared. You know we'll never see you as weak for admitting your pain, right doll?" Bucky said.

Tony whimpered and pressed closer to him. He knew it was true. They'd been telling him that over the last week. Kept telling him how strong and brave he was even when Tony didn't feel strong at all. Even when he was certain that he was made of glass, they made him feel safe enough that it was okay to shatter. They made him feel like he could break and it would be okay. Someone would be there, waiting to pick up the pieces and put him back together.

"Please, don't leave me." He whispered.

"Never." Bucky promised.

"We're not going anywhere, sweetheart." Steve told him, earnestly.

Tony melted into them, allowing himself a few more moments of peace and calm and comfort.

"We're going to be late if we don't head out." He said, regretfully.

Neither men made a move to back away from him and he found that he liked it. He liked that they were as reluctant to let go of him as he was to let go of them. Tony really liked that. They eventually did make it to their reservations and were seated in a private room. The table was round and set for three. They all ordered food and Tony smirked when Steve and Bucky gawked at the prices. They looked like they wanted to refuse to eat here, but they reigned it in, just barely.

"This is really, um, nice, Tony." Steve said in his overly polite way.

"Nice? Steve I brought you to a five star restaurant that costs six hundred dollars a person. Calling it nice is an insult." Tony scoffed, taking a sip of wine.

Steve's jaw clenched and he was definitely holding back an insult. Bucky narrowed his eyes at Tony and Tony got the feeling that he was somehow ruining this date. He sighed and set down his wine glass.

"Would you feel better if we went somewhere else?" Tony asked picking up on the tension.

He couldn't imagine why they'd want to but he had a feeling this was a pride thing. When Tony insisted on picking the place and paying, they clearly hadn't been expecting this place. Though they probably should have seen something like this coming. He was Tony Stark after all.

"We can't make you do that, Tony. I'm sure you've already paid a fortune just for us to be sitting here, besides you went through all the trouble of getting the reservation." Steve said.

Tony didn't bother to point out that JARVIS had made the reservation. Bucky opened his mouth to protest, but Steve glared at him. Yeah, this was not going well. Dammit. This was a really fancy place, the food was made by a renowned chef who was born and raised in Italy before moving to the states and opening this place, this was as authentic as it got. He couldn't believe he was about to do this, but he stood up, grabbing his glass of wine and downing it.

"Go wait in the car boys, I'll be right there."

He didn't let them respond, just turned on his heels and left the room. He waved down the server.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"Yes, my Brooklyn boys clearly don't appreciate the finer things in life." Tony said bitterly.

"I'm sorry, sir. How can I help you?" The server said professionally.

"Get me my check." Tony said irritated.

"Of course, sir."

Tony paid, leaving a substantial tip, but not in cash, he didn't carry money on him. As far as Tony was concerned, he had no reason to actually touch money. That's why he has a financial department. He slid into the car that was waiting out front, undoing the button of his suit. Steve and Bucky both looked worried and Tony sighed. He didn't really care that they wanted to leave. The cost wasn't an issue to him even if they didn't get to enjoy the experience, which was honestly such a shame. No, he was upset that this night was not going according to plan. He really wanted to impress them, but he realized now that bringing them here had clearly been a mistake.

"We're sorry, Tony. We shouldn't a said nothin'. We were really happy to be goin' out with ya, doll. We didn't mean to ruin it." Bucky apologized.

Tony scoffed. They thought they'd ruined the date. That this was the end of it. Tony rolled his eyes. He was just going to drag there asses someone where else. It really didn't matter as long as he was with them. No, it wasn't what he'd planned, but Tony realized when he looked at their broken expressions that it wasn't important. They thought they'd fucked up their chance with him, but they couldn't be more wrong. So what if they were cut from different cloths? That didn't mean they couldn't be sewn together seamlessly. Tony's tailor is one of the best in the business.

Tony pushed himself off the seat, clambering into Bucky's lap, his thighs straddling the man. Bucky was startled, but Tony just grasped his lapels and pulled him in for a heated kiss. Steve shifted in his seat next to them and Tony pulled back smirking at him, leaning over so he could smash his lips against Steve's. They were panting when he finally pulled away. Bucky's hands were on his ass and Tony rocked against the man, loving the way he groaned. Maybe this was even better than he'd planned. Tony moaned as Bucky kneaded his ass and pressed Tony further into him, and God that felt good. He knew if they kept this up, they'd be skipping dinner all together. As much as Tony definitely liked the sound of that, he also wanted to have a real date so he pushed himself off of Bucky and sat back in his seat.

"Alright, boys. Where do you want to go?"

They ended up at a greasy burger joint in Brooklyn. Tony could not believe that this is what they preferred over the very expensive Italian restaurant he'd brought them to. He only complained a little bit though. They seemed way more in their element here and for that Tony was glad.

"These burgers are only five dollars." Tony said in a disgusted tone.

Bucky just smirked at him and Steve barked out a laugh.

"Well, good, 'cause we're footing the bill this time, sweetheart." Steve told his horrified partner.

Tony rolled his eyes, but didn't complain. The food wasn't half bad. Who was he kidding? It was fucking delicious. Tony scarfed down his burger, moaning at the taste. He couldn't believe food this cheap could taste like heaven. A greasy, cholesterol filled, heaven.

"Jesus! This is amazing." Tony admitted as he wiped his hands on a napkin.

Bucky was sucking at his fingers and Steve was dipping fries in ketchup.

"Told ya it was good." Bucky said, stealing one of Steve's fries.

His boyfriend glared at him and Tony laughed when he put a protective arm around his plate. They sure were cute. Changing the plans was definitely worth seeing them relaxed like this. Tony let them pay at the end of the meal even though he could afford it. He knew it was a pride thing for them so he let them have it this time. On the way back to the tower, Tony pulled Bucky onto his lap and made out with him. He also had the pleasure of watching the two men make out. It didn't take them long to get to the tower and Tony was down to his underwear before they even exited the elevator.

The next morning they lazed around in bed, cuddling and sharing kisses before Steve dragged them into the shower. The heat of the moment was mirrored by the steam that filled the room and fogged up the glass of the mirror. They couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other even more so than usual. When Sam called to see if they were coming to Friday night dinner they declined. They had a feeling they wouldn't be able to keep their clothes on long enough to make it through a whole meal. It was later that same night when Steve finally asked Tony a question that had been on his mind since their date.

"Are we official now?" He questioned.

They were curled up in bed together, sweaty sheets sticking to them. Tony was in the middle and he couldn't help but think of how right it felt to be surrounded by the two men, their arms wrapped around his waist. He snuggled into Steve's chest, Bucky pressing kisses on the back of his neck. Tony whined when he bit at the sensitive skin before soothing the sting with his tongue.

"Jesus, Bucky. Take it easy." He hissed.

"Sorry, doll. So...?" 

The bastard didn't sound apologetic in the slightest and Tony could feel him smirking against his neck. He turned in their arms to glare at Bucky's smug expression.

"So what?" He snapped, irritated.

If Bucky kept biting at him, he was going to get hard again. His dick protested the thought. He wasn't sure he could take another orgasm today. He did not have the enhanced libido that these two former soldiers had.

"Are you ours now? Officially?"

Tony huffed and rolled his eyes. He sat up, disentangling himself from their limbs and they let him go reluctantly. Steve and Bucky shared a worried glance before their eyes trailed after Tony. He crossed the room and grabbed his pants, pulling them on. He turned around to see both men sitting up, looking panicked. He smirked at them, pulling on his shirt.

"Calm down. I'm not leaving you. Don't be clingy." Tony teased, as though he wasn't clingy and had the right to judge them for it.

He didn't want them to worry though. If the situation was reversed he would be worried too. He crawled back onto the bed and let them pull him back into their arms. Steve nuzzled at his neck and Bucky brushed his fingers through Tony's hair. He smiled and melted into the soft touches.

"Sure, fine, whatever." Tony said at last.

"What's that, baby?" Steve murmured against his neck.

Tony rolled his eyes at the teasing tone and huffed. He smiled shyly and hid his face in Bucky's chest trying to hide the blush forming on his cheeks.

"I'll be your boyfriend." He muttered embarrassed.

"We love you, Tony." Steve whispered in his ear.

"Always. You're fucking adorable, doll." Bucky said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Shut up."

He couldn't deny the fluttery feeling in his chest at their words though. He was happy. They made him happy and that's all that really mattered.

"Should we go another round to celebrate then?" Bucky said cheekily.

Steve rolled his eyes and Tony lifted his head to glare at Bucky.

"Absolutely not. There's a reason I put my clothes back on."

He could feel their bodies shaking with laughter. He rolled his eyes, but snuggled closer, too exhausted to do much else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's official, Tony is there boyfriend! *cue fangirl screams*
> 
> No seriously, I'm in love
> 
> There was originally a sex scene in this, but I took it out, because I felt like it was too much for this series... 
> 
> I did post it as a one shot in case anyone does want to read it but I don't want to frick with the tags for this series ya know, you can find it under my pseud stuckonylover


	5. Snow Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, fluff, and what do you know more fluff. Pretty much all the fluff lol

The snow was coming down in soft flurries, picked up in the wind and blown this way and that. Phil and Melinda were bundled up in insulated winter coats with scarves wrapped snug around their necks. The cold weather didn't prevent them from taking a stroll through the park on a day that none of their Littles were Little. They walked in the winter wonderland, hands shoved in their pockets and bodies pressed together. Each step left behind a footprint, evidence of how far they'd walk and which direction they'd come from. They stopped under a large tree that sheltered them from the snow falling out of the sky. Their breaths could be seen in puffs as they leaned into each other, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with the snow. With seven Littles, five of which lived under their roof, it wasn't often that they got a moment alone. Phil and Melinda weren't an overly affectionate couple, but they did love each other deeply. They didn't need to hang off of each other or hold hands to know how deep their love ran. Simply sharing air huddled together while taking in the beauty of Central Park as winter fast approached was enough for them.

* * *

Peter was excited. They were finally going to the mountain! He was bouncing in his seat, as much as his straps allowed, at least. Which, admittedly, wasn't much. Ned was sitting beside him watching the snow fall out the window. His bestfriend had never been to the mountain before, nor had he ever been sledding. Peter couldn't believe it when Ned had told him. He insisted that he come with him and Wade when they went. Now here they were, headed there, and Peter was so impatient.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Petey?"

"We der yet?" He asked for the sixth time.

Wade sighed, exasperated. He loved the kid, but they'd only been driving an hour so far and they still had about an hour to go.

"Not yet, baby." He said, yet again.

Wade thanked the gods when they arrived. Peter was driving him crazy and he needed to get the Little in the snow as soon as possible for the sake of his own sanity. Ned jumped out of the car as Wade walked around back to get Peter. The baby instantly squirmed, wanting to be let down. Wade didn't let him down. They still needed to walk up the hill, and Peter would most likely tumble backwards down it if Wade let him walk. The boy whined, then huffed when he was shushed.

Ned pulled the sled behind him as they walked to the top of the hill. It was a wooden sled, large enough for two adults, but with a curved back the way a baby's sled would be to keep the baby from tumbling out. There was a strap that could be buckled around the Little if they were riding alone. The base was up on flat wooden runners, wide enough that the sled wouldn't catch too much speed. Ned sat down on the sled when they were at the top, his feet planted firmly on the ground to keep him from sliding down.

"Down, Daddy!" The Little demanded, trying to squirm his way out of his daddy's unrelenting hold.

"Peter." Wade warned.

The boy kicked his feet angrily. Peter was usually a pretty sweet and easygoing Little, but his patience was wearing thin. It had been a long drive and he was ready for snow fun. Wade set him down on the sled between Ned's legs. The older boys arms wrapped around him and grabbed the rope so he could steer. He lifted up his legs, placing them on the sled, and Wade gave them a push. The boys slid down the hill, snow spraying them as it was kicked up by the runners. Peter screamed in delight and Ned followed suit. Wade followed slower behind them, trekking back down the hill. The sled came to a halt at the bottom. Peter was giggling, and his bestfriend laughed along with him.

* * *

Tony squirmed as Sam pulled snow bibs over his thermals. They were like overalls and snapped up over his shoulders. Tony had long socks on his feet. They were fuzzy and red with snowflakes on them. Sam picked him up and set him on the couch and helped Tony press his feet down into snow boots. Then, Sam pulled the gaiters, the layer under his cuffs, over his boots, the elastic band that wrapped around his booted ankle would prevent snow from getting into his pants. When his gaiters were firmly in place, Sam rolled the outer layer back down.

Steve was helping Bucky into his snow pants and boots as Sam helped Tony. Both men were already wearing their insulated, waterproof pants as well as their snow boots. Tony could already feel the warmth of the gear wrapping around his body. A scarf was wrapped around his neck and a hat pulled down over his head, the flaps covering his ears. Sam pulled a knit sweater over his head and put puffy mittens on his hands. Before he slipped Tony's arms through the sleeves of a lined coat. When they were all ready Sam scooped up Tony and Steve grabbed Bucky.

The moment they exited the apartment lobby, Bucky wanted to be let down, but Tony was happy to stay settled on Sam's hip. The snow was no longer falling, but had settled on the ground, blanketing it in white fluff. The sidewalks were slushy-like from the many feet that had walked over them. Large trucks pushed the snow to the side of the roads, forming walls of snow that had now iced over, and clearing the streets. Rock salt was poured on the asphalt to keep ice from forming. The air was dry and cold, Tony's breath visible as he exhaled. Bucky kicked his feet through the grey slush, Steve's gloved hand in his. They walked the short distance, heading to central park, and Tony admired the way the upper Eastside looked with snow covered holiday decorations. Bucky took off running towards the first untouched patch of snow he saw once they arrived. Steve laughed, following close behind the boy. Tony wasn't so sure what to think about the snow. He wasn't a huge fan of the cold, so he'd always avoided staying in the snow longer than necessary. He couldn't deny the look of delight on Bucky's face as he dug his hands in to a heap of the white fluffy stuff. Steve laughed when the toddler launched a handful at him.

"Do you want to join them?" Sam asked, smiling as he watched the two interact.

Tony shook his head. He didn't want to. He was happy to just stay in Sam's arms and observe the scene. Tony could feel the heat radiating off of his Caregiver, even through the many layers, and he leaned into him. His head fell to his shoulder and he yawned, covered fists coming up to rub at his eyes. The waterproof fabric was crinkly and felt weird rubbing against his bare skin, but the inside of the mittens were soft and fuzzy.

Sam alternated between bouncing and rocking the baby as they watched them play. Sometimes pointing towards Steve and Bucky or something in their surroundings, excitedly explaining things to the baby. Sam pointed out a horse drawn carriage to him that made the boy think of Santa's sleigh. Tony nodded in acknowledgement, sticking his thumb in his mouth. Sam pulled the covered thumb out of Tony's mouth, pushing a pacifier in instead, as he narrated what he was seeing. At one point Steve and Bucky started rolling balls. Three of them. Each one larger than the last. They stacked them up from largest to smallest and Sam told him they were building a snowman. Tony knew this, but he'd never actually seen one being made. Bucky ran up to Tony telling him to come check out his snowman.

"I made a snowpal, like Olaf!" He told the baby.

Tony remembered Olaf from Frozen, one and two, Frozen Fever, and Olaf's Frozen Adventure. Bucky was a huge Frozen fan and when Sam found out there were two shorts and a sequel, he was eager to tell the boy. Everyone was grateful to mix it up a bit, that way they didn't have to keep just re-watching the first movie over and over again. It did mean that they'd seen Olaf's Frozen Adventure an unfathomable amount of times since then. Little Bucky always threw a fit if they didn't watch something Frozen related at movie night, so they were now in the habit of watching one of the shorts before whatever movie had been chosen, just to appease the toddler. Usually they watched Frozen Fever, since it was under ten minutes, but at home, Bucky tended to request the one about Olaf instead.

"Come on, Tony!" The Little urged.

Sam walked over to the snowman, so Tony could get a better look at the sculpture.

"Play with me, baby!" Bucky demanded after he finished showing off his snowman, tugging at Tony's pant leg.

"Bucky, stop pulling on Tony. I don't think he wants to play right now." Sam told the boy.

He pouted up at his Caregiver, but Steve distracted him. Tony watched Steve chase the toddler around until they had fallen over. Tony's eyes got wide, but he relaxed when they burst out laughing. Tony giggled as he watched them rolling around in the snow. Steve pulled the Little on top of him and Bucky sat up, shoving snow in his face. Tony didn't think that was very nice, but Steve just tickled the boy. Bucky didn't get scolded for it, so Tony thought it must have been okay. Sam was getting ready to call it quits and head back to warm up when Tony kicked his legs. The baby squirmed, trying to get down, so Sam set him on his feet, stabilizing him with his hands.

The snow crunched beneath Tony's boots and he felt uncertain about walking in the new terrain. He squatted down, hesitantly sticking a mitten in the fine powder. It glistened in his palm, white and pristine and he shoved the handful in his mouth. Sam gave him an amused look when the baby glanced up in surprise. It was cold on his tongue, quickly melting in the heat of his mouth, and tasted like water, but slightly different. Tony pursed his lips at the sparkly snow in front of him and repeated the action, eating a couple more handfuls. Bucky ran up when he saw Tony was on the ground.

"Tony! Tony! Let's make snow angels!"

Tony blinked at his brother and Bucky grabbed his hand, pulling him up. He brought Tony to an untouched patch of snow. Tony wasn't sure what they were doing, but his eyes got wide when Bucky flopped down on his back and started sliding his arms and legs. Tony giggled, because it looked like the boy was doing jumping jacks while lying down. Tony thought it was a pretty silly sight. Bucky sat up after a minute, holding his hand out. Steve reached down and pulled him to his feet, careful not to disturb his snow art.

"'S a snow angel." Bucky told his younger brother. "Now you do it."

Tony frowned at him. The boy huffed and tugged Tony over so he wouldn't land on his angel before shoving him to the ground. Tony's lip quivered and he started crying.

"Bucky!" Steve said, shocked.

"James Buchanan Barnes! We do not push people. Apologize to your brother." Sam scolded the boy sternly.

Bucky just rolled his eyes, narrowing them at Tony and Tony stopped crying, trying to hold back more tears. He didn't think it was nice what Bucky did. Still, he didn't want the boy to look so scornfully at him.

"Bucky." The baby said sadly.

"Don't cry about it. It didn't even hurt ya." Bucky said, exasperated.

Sam wasn't happy with Bucky's lack of remorse and he got a telling off from both men. Tony felt bad when Bucky stomped his foot and pouted. Tony wanted them to stop harassing his brother, so he pulled their attention away from the unhappy boy.

"Wan' my Bucky!" The baby said, reaching out his arms.

He made grabby hands, which was harder with the his thick mittens on. It had the desired effect though and the adults went quiet, looking at the baby. Bucky grinned and dove at him and landed on Tony, knocking him over. Sam and Steve looked exasperated.

"Oof!" Tony said, as the air was knocked out of him.

It didn't hurt though and he giggled under his brother. Bucky hugged him, burying his face in Tony's neck. His scarf tickled Bucky's cheek making him laugh. Tony could feel the reverberation of their laughter through their bodies as they broke out into a fit of giggles. As their laughter died out, they molded into each other, their legs tangling. They fit together like puzzle pieces. Bucky nuzzled against Tony's neck, his nose tracing his cheek before rubbing their noses together. The baby giggled and pressed a wet kiss to his cheek and Bucky grinned at him, sitting up. He rolled off of Tony and instructed him to spread his arms and legs out, like Bucky had. Steve helped Tony up when he was done and he admired his first ever snow angel.

"Good job, Tony!" Bucky told him.

The praise was echoed by both adults as they told him how great his angel looked. Tony flushed, the red on his cheeks from more than just the bite of the cold. Tony thought it wasn't fair that he received all of the compliments though.

"Pwetty, Bucky!" He said, pointing to Bucky's angel.

Bucky glanced at it and his cheeks heated up. He looked away from Tony shyly before pulling him in for a hug, his breath hot on Tony's neck.

"You're pretty, Tony." Bucky whispered, the words soft as they caressed Tony's ear.

He pulled back and smiled sweetly at the baby. Tony blushed even harder, glancing at his boots shyly. Steve and Sam smiled affectionately at the two Littles. They walked back shortly after that. Sam offered to carry Tony, but he shook his head and grabbed Bucky's hand. The two boys swung their hands between their bodies as the adults held their other hands and guided them back home.

They were stripped out of their outer layers when they got back. The wet gear set out by the heaters to dry. Tony and Bucky curled up on the couch under a fuzzy blanket, while Sam cooked them dinner. Steve gave them each a kiss on the head before he took off, heading to the tower to spar with Natasha. After dinner, Sam tucked the boys into bed with a story and kisses to the head. Tony curled up to Bucky, their breaths mingling as they pressed in close. Their stuffies were squished in between them and their legs tangled together. Bucky ran his fingers through Tony's hair and the baby hummed at the feeling, suckling sleepily on his pacifier. His eyes fluttered closed as sleep weighed them down.

"I love you, Tony." Bucky whispered, the words were warm and wrapped around Tony like a hug.

He smiled, mumbling an I love you back, the words muffled by his pacifier. Bucky understood him though and he felt a warmth blooming in his chest as stared down at the baby. Tony drifted off to sleep while Bucky combed his fingers through his hair. He watched Tony as his breath evened out and his pacifier slid partially out of his mouth. Eventually, sleep took hold of him too and his eyes closed.

* * *

The sun filtered through the snow covered window, glowing. Bucky watched as Tony's eyes opened. Tony blinked up at him and Bucky smirked. Tony reached up, pulling his pacifier out of his mouth and pushing himself into a seated position.

"Morning, Buckarooney."

"Morning, babe." Bucky said.

Sam smiled at the two men as they walked out of their nursery and headed to the bathroom. He could tell by their demeanor and the way they greeted him that they were Big. The boys showered together, enjoying the way the hot water worked the knots out of their muscles. They grabbed sweats and t-shirts from Sam's room before layering up and heading to the tower.

Steve had woken up and gone for a run that morning, but was drinking coffee on the couch when his boyfriends walked in. He smiled up at them. Their hands were connected and they both had dopey grins on their faces. They looked like the epitome of two men in love. It warmed Steve's heart to see. It was hard to imagine he had been so worried that they'd never fall for each other, just a month ago. Love worked in mysterious ways.

Steve thought it helped that they spent so much time bonding as Littles. Bucky was right when he'd said that it was sometimes easier to let your guard down when you're Little. They always seemed so much more affectionate when they were Big, if they got to spend one on one time together while they were Little. Now that Tony was settling into a routine and felt comfortable dropping, he tended to spend more time as a baby than an adult.

He still had work binges, where he'd pull all-nighters and refuse to leave his lab. The difference was, that once he was exhausted after two or three days, and felt the urge to regress, he found his way to Sam's. Then he would crash hard and spend the next four or five days with Sam. Once he'd recovered, he'd get Big and go back to work. Though his work binges were less common now. With a consistent sleep schedule at Sam's and his needs being met on a regular basis, Tony found it harder to ignore his needs when he was working. Steve had noticed in the last week or so that Tony had started taking breaks to eat. He also had been sleeping during the night, even when he was Big.

Pepper was very accommodating of his new schedule and worked with Sam to make sure Tony got the time to be Little, whenever he needed or wanted it. She pulled in Bruce, Leo, and Jemma to help out when Tony wasn't around and went to meetings and press conferences without him whenever it was possible. Tony was reluctant to step back at first, but no one pushed it. Now, a month and a half later, he happily spent the majority of his time being Little. He didn't do it because he felt like he had to. He did it because he wanted to.

He finally felt safe enough to just let go and relax. He knew Sam would take care of him and when Sam couldn't watch him because of work, Tony would go to May's. Bucky usually went too, since Bucky tended to spend five out of seven days of the week Little, sometimes even more, if he just got back from a mission. Bucky hadn't gone on any missions since Tony agreed to join their family though. Steve thought it was because he didn't want to be away from him, though Bucky denied it when he had asked. That was the reason Steve hadn't gone on any either.

The three men drank coffee together and ate a quick breakfast before Tony went to the lab. He kissed them both and promised to be done by dinner. Steve and Bucky exchanged conversation for a little while longer, then headed off to the agency.

* * *

Clint and Tasha were dressed up in their snow gear, as they diligently worked on compressing the fluffy snow into rectangular shaped blocks. They stacked them together, creating a circle with a break in it for an entrance. The base was wide, getting narrower towards the top, as it curved to form a dome shaped roof. Phil watched the two from a distance. They were more than capable of building it themselves and they hadn't requested his assistance. He wouldn't impose unless he felt it was necessary. He never ceased to be amazed by what they were capable of, even when they were Little.

Clint and Tasha were two of the most fiercely independent Littles Phil had ever met. Older Littles tended to be more independent, like Bruce and Grant. The oldest of Littles, like Darcy, tended to be fully self sufficient. Usually, younger Littles were happier relying more heavily on their Caregivers to provide and care for them. Which was why, at first, it had been a struggle for Phil to step back and allow the two Littles to do there own thing, only offering assistance when it was needed or wanted. Most of the time, they were eager to be big, even when they weren't, though Clint was definitely a daddy's boy. Phil had long since decided that it was best to just let them do as they pleased, for the most part anyways.

"Daddy! Come look at our igloo!" Clint shouted.

Both kids were in their older headspaces today. Clint about five and Tasha roughly nine. The girl was spreading snow over the exterior of the fully constructed structure. They'd even put in an archway. Phil admired their work, offering genuine compliments.

"We're gonna make shelves inside too." Tasha informed him.

Phil expressed his pride, and it wasn't just him indulging them, he was honestly amazed at the effort and focus on details that ' they'd put into their snow structure. When they were finished they built a wall a couple of feet around their igloo, to keep it safe from trespassers. Phil smiled at that and they headed back to the tower afterwards.

The next day they met up with Melinda. She brought along Grant, Skye and Jemma. Leo and Bruce we're both working for SI today, so they didn't join them. Phil and Melinda were sitting on a park bench, chatting about work, the Littles, and their upcoming holiday plans, while keeping an eye on the kids. Clint and Tasha had immediately headed for their igloo when they got there. It had iced over in the night and was rock solid now. They huddled up inside of it, telling stories and joking with each other.

They had started shedding layers as their body heat filled the small space, balling up their coats and propping themselves up on them, to keep from leaning against the cold walls. They sat with their knees up and their arms resting loosely on them. Their scarves, hats and gloves were abandoned in a pile next to them and their insulated snow bibs kept them from feeling the cold of the icy ground below them.

Jemma was huddled up under the coverage of a tree, a book clutched in her gloved hands. She was unbothered by the two Littles who were chasing each other around. Grant and Skye were laughing and throwing jibes at each other as they flung snowballs and ducked to avoid getting hit. Skye shrieked when she got hit square in the chest and threw a snow ball, managing to graze Grant's head. He tackled her to the ground in retaliation and they rolled around, wrestling for a few minutes, before Grant pinned her to the ground, grinning smugly. He stood up, offering her a hand up, but she ignored it, swiping a leg out instead. His legs buckled as she knocked them out from under him. Skye scooped a handful of snow, forming it into a ball as he landed on his back with a grunt and launched it at him, laughing when he glared up at her, accusing her of cheating.

"All is fair in love and war." She mocked, dancing out of arms reach when he tried to grab her.

She stuck out her tongue at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Na na boo boo! You can't catch me!" She taunted in a sing-songy voice.

Phil and Melinda laughed as they watched the scene play out. They shared a look and Melinda got up to separate the two, when the teasing took a turn in the wrong direction. She scolded them for calling each other mean names and had them talk through the issue, before encouraging them to reconcile the problem with an apology. Then she pointed out a nearby incline and asked if they wanted to roll down the slope with her. They jumped at the offer.

Melinda was stricter than Phil, but she wasn't cruel. She could keep the Littles in line with just a few words and a stern look, but she also knew how to have a good time. She didn't linger on bad behavior or hold grudges. She didn't let much slide and was quick to correct them when they acted out, but she also understood that regressing was supposed to be relaxing and fun for the kids. a time when they could let go and be young.

Unlike some Doms, Melinda recognized that a Little giving you a hard time, was a Little who was having a hard time. When the kids experienced big feelings and had trouble expressing them, she told them what they had done that wasn't okay and why it wasn't okay. Then she showed them an appropriate way to express their feelings and guided them towards an acceptable activity.

Phil smiled as he watched his wife rolling down a slope with their kids. Jemma came and curled up in his lap, complaining that it was cold and Phil wrapped his arms around her, after storing her book safely away in Clint's diaper bag. He waited another half an hour, holding the Little close to ward off the cold, before suggesting to Melinda that they head back home. Clint and Tasha complained about it, but perked up when Melinda told them she was making chicken nuggets and fries for dinner. Clint immediately demanded to have ketchup with his and Tasha nodded in agreement. Melinda raised a brow at the boy and he quickly tacked on a please.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this one! I thought it was pretty cute.
> 
> Also I have know clue where the nearest mountain is to New York, so yeah, let's just pretend there's one about two hours away.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting!! You guys are amazing!❤


	6. Christmas Decorating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is talk about religion and beliefs in this and a disagreement of sorts, but like not really... Idk, it wasn't really what I was planning but, yeah, that happened. I figured I'd warn you, but like I guess with the Christmas theme and all, it's probably not overly shocking.
> 
> If you just want to read the cute decorating part and skip the drama, than just read up to the first time skip

Tony never bothered much with things like decorating for Christmas. Howard liked to use the holiday to display his wealth through lavish decorations, though he didn't have any religious affiliations. Which is why as a child, Jarvis and Ana always decorated the house and his mom admired the Garland and the bows on the stairs and the white dusting of fake snow on the tree. Tony didn't like it though. It was a reminder of things he couldn't touch. The presents stacked underneath the pine and the stockings hung by the fireplace, taunted him. Tony never got presents or stockings full of chocolate and candy canes growing up. Howard always told him he wasn't good enough and Santa doesn't bring presents to bad little boys. So when Sam suggested he should come over and decorate with them, Tony declined. He couldn't imagine those kinds of things would bring up anything but painful memories for him. Bucky had been Little when he found out Tony didn't plan on joining in with the holiday festivities. The kid begged him to come and broke down in tears when Sam told him to stop.

When Bucky was Big, Tony thought it'd be better. It wasn't. It was even worse, because Sam wasn't there to make him stop. Bucky pestered him relentlessly until Tony finally snapped at him. Then he sulked around for the rest of the day looking absolutely miserable. Steve tried to cheer him up, but it didn't work. Eventually, Tony's resolve wore thin and he reluctantly agreed to help out. Bucky was thrilled and Steve was relieved they were getting along again. Sam was surprised, but sounded happy when Tony called him up to say he'd be there. Which is how Tony ended up at Sam's apartment, Big and resigned to decorating. Bucky was hanging up the stockings on nails that Sam had put up, while Tony helped Steve hang lights around the inside of the living room window.

"Can we make o'nam'nts now?" Bucky asked, bouncing on his toes.

Sam chuckled.

"Sure thing, bud. Let me lay out some newspaper."

Sam put newspaper down on the table and pulled out an array of ornaments. Some were flat and wooden, shaped like bells or stockings or Christmas trees. Others were ceramic figurines. Tony could see elves, Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, reindeer, and angels, amongst others. Tony frowned at them. He didn't know a whole lot about ornaments, but he was fairly certain they weren't supposed to look so plain and devoid of color. 

"Do you want to paint with us, Tony?" Steve asked.

"Nah, I'm good."

He didn't understand why they would be painting their ornaments. Could they not afford already painted ones?

"Tony! Ya gotta pain' wif us!" Bucky whined.

Tony just frowned. This kid.

"Yeah, Tony. You gotta." Steve teased, pulling him over to the table.

"Steve-" Tony started.

"Come on, if ya don't he'll never forgive you. Trust me when I say, Bucky knows how to hold a grudge." Steve whispered in his ear.

Tony huffed, but sat down at the table. Sam had been watching the exchange. As much as he was happy to have Tony joining them, he didn't want him to feel forced into anything.

"Maybe Tony would rather help with something else. What do you think, Tony?" Sam asked.

"Oh thank god. Got anything that doesn't involve stockings or Christmas trees. Or like angels and Santa."

Sam chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"How about threading popcorn and cranberries?" He offered.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows, thoroughly confused.

"You want me to do what?"

"Let me grab 'em and I'll show you."

Sam sat down holding a sewing needle with red thread looped through it. He had a bowl of plain popcorn and a bag of cranberries next to him.

"All you gotta do is poke the needle through and get them on the thread. Easy enough. Just, uh, keep your needle on this side of the table."

Sam threw a glance at Bucky. The Little was fully engrossed in his paint project. Tony looked over to see him painting a stocking solid yellow. His paint was gloppy and uneven, too thick in some spots and barely there in others. It was cute in the way that it was when a child attempted to do something and so clearly failed to do it well. Tony looked at Steve's ornament. He was painting one of the figures, Santa. If Tony wasn't witnessing him do it, he would have guessed it was store bought from the professional quality of it. He swallowed, glanced away and sat down to start threading popcorn and cranberries, the purpose of which, Tony still didn't fully understand. It was an easy enough task, though the popcorn sometimes broke which was annoying. He created a pattern of two cranberries then one piece of popcorn.

Except, his eyes kept being drawn to Steve. He tried to focus on his task as Bucky hummed along with Christmas songs that were playing on the radio. Sam was linking together loops of green and red construction paper, making some sort of chain. Tony watched Steve set aside his finished Santa ornament and grab an angel. His eyes lingered a tad too long on Steve, his steady fingers making delicate strokes on the white ceramic surface. He hissed, swearing as he pricked his finger. All of the eyes at the table snapped to him.

"You okay, Tony?" Sam asked.

Tony nodded.

"He said a bad word, Sammy." Bucky said.

Tony stuck his finger in his mouth, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue as the droplet hit it.

"It's okay, Bucky. Tony's Big right now and he can do what he wants." Sam told the boy.

"That's so not fair." Bucky said indignantly.

Tony pulled his finger out of his mouth as the Little crossed his arms, pouting.

"Sorry, kiddo. I shouldn't have done it. I was just-" He paused, his eyes flickering to Steve who was giving him a concerned look. "Distracted."

Bucky huffed, but uncrossed his arms and picked up his brush again. Tony held Steve's gaze and the blond blushed. He smirked and leaned in close.

"You painting is quite a site, love. You should do it more often."

Steve blushed harder, coughed awkwardly, and mumbled a thanks.

"Let me get you a band aid." Sam said, starting to get up.

Tony waved off his concern.

"I appreciate it, Sam, but it's not necessary. Plus, I don't really need a cartoon stuck to my finger right now."

Sam nodded and went back to the chain he was working on. They all worked on their projects in silence. Well, somewhat. Bucky was humming along with the music and singing when he knew the words, his tone off key and tongue stumbling over the lyrics. The sound of the stapler could be heard as Sam stapled paper together and the slight brush of paint being applied to ornaments could be heard if you listened closely. They finished up, leaving the ornaments out to dry, and retiring to the living room. Bucky clambered on Tony's lap, to his surprise and Steve chuckled at Tony's wide eyed expression.

"I wanna watch Frozen."

"Of course you do." Tony muttered under his breath.

"'S got snow in it, Tony." Bucky told him, as though that made all the difference.

Tony rolled his eyes, but wrapped his arms around the toddlers waist. Bucky leaned back against his chest and accepted the sippy cup that Sam offered him. They all settled in, getting ready to watch Frozen, yet again. Steve and Tony shared a look when Bucky got just as excited about Olaf singing about summer as he always did. The kid could be really predictable at times.

* * *

Tony raised a brow when Steve put a cross on the front door. There was a wreath hanging on the other side, the one people knocking would see. It occurred to Tony in that moment that they might all be Christian. Not that it really mattered. It's just that they never go to church, at least not that he knows of, so he didn't think they were.

"Are you guys, like, ya know?" Tony said, making a gesture towards the cross.

Steve raised a brow at him.

"Sam's not. He does this kind of thing mostly for us. We're both Christian. Well, I'm a devout Protestant. Bucky's just Christian by name."

Tony frowned.

"You don't go to church."

Steve looked amused.

"I do attend services when I'm Big. Why? Worried to be dating someone who believes in God?" Steve's tone was light, but there was a steel edge it.

"Please, I'm not a bigot, Rogers. Just find it odd that I didn't know."

Steve's eyes narrowed at the use of his last name.

"Would it have mattered if you did?"

Tony could sense the uncertainty rolling off his partner in waves. Sam led Bucky into the nursery, sensing the seriousness of the conversation. Tony sighed, stepping forward until his toes were touching Steve's.

"No. It wouldn't have and it doesn't. I was just asking, that's all."

Steve searched his eyes, the tension leaving him when he saw the sincerity in his partner's eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of something." Steve said.

"It's all good."

Steve reached out and cupped Tony's cheek, brushing his lips against the man's.

"Do you want to know?"

"Know what?"

"About my beliefs? My family's?"

Tony furrowed his brows at that. Of course he wanted to know. What kind of a question was that?

"Well, yeah. I think that'd be nice, considering we share a bed and a boyfriend and just about everything else." Tony replied.

Steve smiled and pressed his forehead to Tony's.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Tony huffed and Steve pressed his lips to his again.

"I was raised Catholic, but converted before I was shipped off. It's not that I hated being Catholic, but there was something about it that didn't fully reflect my beliefs. I became a Protestant, because it felt more inclusive to me."

Tony thought about that for a minute and nodded his head.

"So you like believe in like God and Jesus, and I don't know the bible?"

Steve chuckled.

"Yes, Tony. I do."

"And Bucky?"

"You should probably ask him yourself, when he's not Little."

Tony bit his lip, but nodded. That was understandable. Tony honestly didn't care. He wasn't bothered by Steve being religious, though he didn't really understand it. There was one thing nagging at him though, it didn't quite add up.

"How can you be devout if I've never seen you go to church?"

Steve pursed his lips. He looked slightly offended.

"I'm deeply connected to my faith, I have high moral standards, and I do go to church, despite what you may believe. It's true I haven't gone since we started dating, but like I said, my schedule doesn't always allow it. I don't go when I'm Little. That doesn't make me any less committed to my religion, Tony." 

There was a defensive edge to Steve's voice and Tony decided not to push it.

"Fine, I believe you."

He held up his hands to show he was giving in. Steve smirked and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around his waist. Tony pursed his lips. Maybe there was one more thing he wanted to know.

"Doesn't the bible like hate gays, or whatever?"

Steve sighed, letting go of Tony and running a hand through his hair.

"No, Tony, I don't believe it does. The church I'm a part of doesn't either. I left Catholicism because it felt too oppressive to me and I didn't want to be made to feel like my feelings were sins and that I had to atone for them. Not all Catholics are against homosexuality though. My mom's one of the most caring people I know and she's always been Catholic, but I'm not disillusioned. I know not all Christians are okay with it, but that doesn't mean they're all like that."

Tony nodded again and glanced away nervously. Steve looked drained, like the conversation was taking a lot out of him and Tony was ready to put this behind them. Steve seemed to want the same thing.

"Let's just forget about it, okay? It doesn't matter." Steve said, hoping Tony would move on.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go check on Bucky."

Tony knew he didn't have to check on the kid. Sam was with him, so it's not like anything bad could have happened to him. He just really needed to focus on something else. He couldn't believe this had never come up before. They'd been friends for multiple years now. It was true Tony didn't really pay much attention to Steve's day to day life before they got together. He could have easily missed that he went to church. It wasn't something Tony even considered. He hadn't been raised religious and he just assumed Steve and Bucky weren't. Which maybe wasn't fair of him. Tony's feet had brought him into the nursery, but he barely noticed the steps he took to get there. 

"Hey, Buckaroo. Can I get a hug?" Tony asked.

Sam looked at him and Tony tried not to notice the pity in his eyes. Bucky jumped to his feet, abandoning the toys he'd been playing with.

"Why ya cwying? Wha's w'ong?" Bucky asked, his lip quivering.

"What? I'm not-" Tony started.

His hand reached up to his cheek and he realized he was, indeed, crying. He wasn't sure why. He hadn't really had a fight with Steve or anything. It must have been the strain of the conversation taking a toll on him or maybe just the strain of the holidays in general. It's not like Tony had ever really enjoyed the holidays much.

"Tony, are you okay?" Sam asked gently, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah." He said, his voice thick with emotions.

Bucky whimpered, looking scared.

"A'e you 'n Stevie fightin'?" He asked in a heartbreakingly sad tone.

"No, nothing like that kid. We just- Everything's fine, okay?" 

Tony wiped at his eyes, trying to will the tears away.

"Let me know if you need anything." Sam told him.

Tony nodded and the Caregiver left the room.

"Can I get that hug now, baby?"

Bucky still looked scared and like he was about to cry himself, but he threw himself at Tony, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. Tony hugged the kid close, taking comfort in having him near. A part of him selfishly wished he was Big, so Tony could talk to him about all this. That wasn't fair though. Bucky deserved to be Little. It wasn't fair of Tony to want him to be Big or to burden the kid with his adult problems. That didn't stop Tony from pulling him to the bed. He laid down, holding Bucky in his arms and trying to make the tears stop. It wasn't even dinnertime, too early to go to bed, but Tony didn't care. He didn't know why he was hurting so much. Maybe it was the uncertainty of everything. Maybe a part of him was doubting how this could all possibly work out. Steve said it didn't matter, but what if it did? What if they left him, because he didn't believe in God or whatever it was that Steve and Bucky believed in? Tony wasn't even sure what Bucky believed in. That just made it worse. Something else to feel uncertain about. Something, that before today, hadn't even crossed his mind.

Bucky fell asleep, on the verge of tears and it made Tony feel insanely guilty. He didn't want to let the boy go though. He wanted to hold on to him forever. Tony wished Steve would come join them. Wished he'd hold them and tell Tony everything was okay. He didn't want to ask him to though. Tony was scared that it wasn't okay. What if Tony wasn't okay with it? He didn't think it mattered, and he'd said that, but still. What if it did? What if Tony couldn't be okay with it? Steve said he was a devout Protestant. What the hell does that even mean? Tony felt like screaming and crying and demanding answers to questions he didn't even know. Mostly, he just wanted this to all go away. He regretted ever even asking. It was all so much easier before he knew. They do say ignorance is bliss.

Tony must have drifted off at some point. He woke up to an empty bed, and he felt like crying again. He pulled himself out of the bed. He shouldn't even be in here. He felt like a stranger all of a sudden. Like he was intruding upon someone else's life. Technically this was his room. This was where he slept when he was Little, but it didn't feel like his right now, and it wasn't because he was Big. It was because he wasn't sure he still belonged here.

He was once again reminded of the risk he was taking. Even being in this relationship with Steve and Bucky, meant there was always a chance it wouldn't work out. If it didn't, he couldn't help but feel like this would all fall apart. Like this home he'd become accustomed to would come crumbling down around him, leaving him cold and alone. His insecurities were creeping up on him and he needed to get away from them. He needed to get away from this. They were all sitting at the table when he stepped out of the room. He closed the door as quietly as possible and walked to the front door, grabbing his shoes. He was slipping them on when he heard his name being called.

"Tony?" 

It was Steve and Tony froze, turning around slowly, like he'd been caught misbehaving.

"Where are you going?" Steve sounded hurt.

Sam was watching them, but didn't say anything. It wasn't his place to impose upon their adult relationship. He was their Caregiver, but that didn't give him the right to control their lives. If they asked for his input, he'd give it. Until then, he would force himself to stay out of it. Bucky looked up curiously from his plate, but his expression turned anxious when he saw Tony.

"I was just- I- I've got somethings I've gotta do, you know, in the lab." Tony stumbled over the excuse.

It was obviously a lie and Tony cringed at the way Steve glared at him.

"Fine." He said, the one word holding an impossible amount of disdain.

Tony didn't say anything. He just grabbed his coat and left. He stayed holed up in his lab after that, not wanting to face the inevitable. He knew he couldn't escape the situation forever. He also knew he was making it worse by hiding away. That didn't stop him from doing it. Steve didn't come by and Tony was grateful. He didn't want to talk to him. He couldn't deny that it hurt a little too. A part of him wished the man cared enough to seek him out. He didn't lockdown the lab, Steve could easily come waltzing in and demand that Tony see him. He didn't though. Tony couldn't help but think it was because he must not want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, the angst is real guys. I know I said I want to just move onto happier times, but apparently I like dwelling in the pain too much to do that. *sighs*
> 
> Just to clarify, Tony's not upset about Steve being religious. He's just feeling insecure, and being Tony, he doesn't handle the situation well.
> 
> I did quite a bit of research into the religious backgrounds of Steve, Bucky, Tony, and Sam for this one.
> 
> I'd always assumed Steve was Irish Catholic, and I chose to work that into the story by mentioning the way he was raised. I did however find out, that Steve is listed as a devout Protestant in 616. So yeah. 
> 
> Also the reason Steve doesn't attend church when he's Little, is because he can't go alone, and he doesn't want to burden Sam with it.
> 
> Bucky is listed as Protestant(nominal) but I read some interesting posts and comments discussing his family and the possibility of him having been raised Anglican.
> 
> Sam is said to not be religious though his family was deeply religious, that he refused to join the church at 16, believing his parents to be ignorant for their faith, but that his parents were actually supportive of his decision. So I felt that he would not be against religion, just not particularly interested in it.
> 
> As for Tony the evidence points towards him being atheist. Perhaps, after the battle of New York he comes to terms with the fact that he doesn't know everything and their might be things out there, such as a higher power, that he has no knowledge of.


	7. I Think We're Dating Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lorna is a teenage Little 14-16
> 
> Also, this has none of the main characters in it and is basically just a side piece.

Max Eisenhardt was busying himself in the kitchen, eager for his family to arrive home. He'd set the table with two large candles in fancy silver holders. The blue runner that ran down the middle of the table had a platter of chicken, bowl of green beans, and a plate of latkes. Their was also a bowl of apple sauce, and sour cream. Max washed the last of the dishes, setting them in the drying rack, before walking over to the bureau in the dining room. He pulled a dreidel out of the top drawer and set it on the bureau surface, beside the platter of sufganiyot, and bags of gelt.

He was melting the ends of the menorah candles to fit them into the holders when the door opened in the front hall. He heard the creak of it, before voices drifted down the corridor. Setting the last candle in place, he placed the lighter on the small table in front of the window that currently housed the ornate menorah. Max walked into the spacious hall, striding it's length, before entering the front hall. Robert and Lorna were hanging up their coats, still wet with melting snow, on the coat rack. Lorna looked up and smiled at him, toeing off her boots.

"Happy first night of Hannukah!" Max greeted them and Lorna echoed it back to him cheerfully.

Robert glanced up from untying his boots. With his laces untied, he closed the gap between them, pressing a kiss to his husband's lips. Lorna rolled her eyes at the display of affection, shaking her head, her smile growing. Max separated from his partner in favor of pulling their daughter in for a hug.

"Is Charles home?" Robert asked.

"Not yet."

Robert hummed in response and left the hall.

"I think he's jealous."

Max raised a brow at her.

"I don't know what your talking about." Max denied the claim.

Lorna shot him an unimpressed look, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You've been pining after him since high school, Dad. You can't blame Papa for being a bit trepidatious."

"Your father is fine. Don't worry about it, dear."

Even as he spoke the words Max knew it wasn't true. Robert and Charles had always gotten along well enough when they were kids. It was different now though, not that they didn't get along, per se. When Charles reentered Max's life last year, well, Max just couldn't help himself, having him so close, with every reason to care for the man, was too much of a temptation. He'd been infatuated with the man since they were still rowdy boys dancing the summers away under the blazing sun. Robert hadn't been overly thrilled about the bond they shared, but he was no fool. He'd always known of the connection the two men shared and Charles was so humble and polite, never wanting to impose upon their family or relationship. Robert couldn't really find it in him to dislike the man. So, Robert offered, well more like insisted, that he move in with them.

Max was not disillusioned. His two partners were not in love with each other. They did, however, tolerate the others presence for his sake. After a few months of living with Charles, Max had begun to rekindle the light they once held between them. They became impossibly close. They weren't intimate, though if Charles weren't in a wheelchair, Max thinks they would have been. Robert was as understanding as one can be of the situation. If the two men sometimes shared lingering looks, he didn't complain. The truth was, Robert wished it was just a sexual desire, but he knew that wasn't what it was. Max and Charles were deeply in love. Anyone could spot it from the way they were so aware of the others presence. Max attended to Charles every need, and in turn, Charles indulged his whims. When Max would request to watch a movie, or play a game of chess together, Charles would push aside the papers that needed grading in order to spend time with the man. It was the innocent nature of their friendship, that frustrated Robert the most.

Robert's relationship with Max had always been fast paced. Hot and steamy, full of desire and a need to be physically close to the other. A need to be one. Yet, it always lacked the tender touches and romantic gestures that seemed to come so naturally to Charles. Yes, they kissed frequently and their sex life was as potent as ever, but outside of intimate touches, they spent very little time together. It was something that Robert had never felt was necessary. He didn't need to be taken care of and he didn't particularly feel as though he was missing out on anything.

It's not that Robert felt Max was ignoring him now and wished he'd give him more attention. They had actually struggled with Max's desire to care for his partner at the start of their relationship. Max was a Caregiver. Naturally, he would feel the need to dote upon Robert. The problem was, Robert was not a Little. He often found himself feeling overwhelmed and unsettled by the way Robert wanted to help him with things he was perfectly capable of doing on his own, or tried to solve problems Robert didn't need him to solve. Eventually, Robert had to tell Max he was being overbearing. Robert was a Neutral. He didn't need or want that kind of undivided attention or the copious amounts of affection that Max had been giving him. Max was apologetic. The truth was, the man hadn't really even noticed he was doing those things. Caring for others was such a natural thing for him, he did it without thinking about it.

After that, Max paid attention to the things he did and the way he spoke to Robert. He was careful not to interfere when Robert didn't ask for his assistance and forced himself to take a step back. Robert was relieved to feel like he could breathe again and their relationship was strengthened by the mutual understanding. Though the change in dynamics was a great relief to Robert, it was hard on Max. It made him painfully aware of how little he was needed. Robert wanted him, loved him, needed him for physical gratification, but the Caregiver felt like something was missing. He wanted to spend time with someone and provide for them. Feed them, bathe and dress them, and hold them in his arms as he went about his day.

This is what lead the couple to looking for a Little. There were many Littles that needed a home, but to Max, what mattered most was feeling connected to the Little. Having a Little who wanted to be their child as much as they wanted to be their parent. Max wanted a young Little, but Robert was concerned that he wasn't fit to care for a young child. They found their perfect match in Lorna Dane. The teenage Little was old enough to care for herself, but enjoyed playing games and spending time with Max. Even Robert found himself enjoying the Littles company and wanting to take her to see movies and baseball games. As much as Max loved his daughter and cherished the last few years they'd spent together, he couldn't help but wish he had something more. He did housework, and cooked meals, but he didn't have someone who really needed help with basic tasks.

That was, he didn't until Charles came to stay with them. The two men happened to be in the same place at the same time, coincidentally. There was a robbery and gun shots were fired. Max had held up a metal garbage lid to protect himself from a stray bullet. He wasn't injured, but Charles was. The bullet ricocheted off of the lid, and hit him, effectively paralyzing the man. Max visited his former bestfriend in the hospital everyday for months, until he was released. Robert had gone to see the man on a handful of occasions as well. He observed the way his partner interacted with the other man and decided they would take Charles in. Both Max and Charles tried to decline the offer, but Robert shot down their refusals. He insisted that Charles come to stay with them. He didn't regret it either. Robert was not a cruel or heartless man. He knew the men were good for each other and he liked Charles. He did worry that he had no place in all of this. He was concerned that having a partner to care for would mean Max no longer needed him.

So if he felt a little bitter sometimes, he wouldn't feel guilty about it. Well, not too guilty.

It had taken multiple months, but eventually Max and Charles had become partners. Their relationship wasn't sexual in nature, but their love for each other was ever present. Charles needed a lot and Max was happy to give it to him. The Neutral had even taken a liking to things that most Neutrals weren't fond of. Recently though, there seemed to be some tension between Robert and Charles. Max struggled to fully understand it. He hoped that if he brushed it under the rug, it would pass. Though, admittedly, that was unlikely. Max found his husband eating a jelly filled donut and raised a brow at him.

"Don't let Lorna catch you eating one of those. She doesn't get any until after dinner."

Robert just shrugged and licked his fingers after he had popped the last bite in his mouth.

"No evidence, no way to prove I did it." 

Max chuckled, and pulled his husband in for a heated kiss.

"I missed you." Max said affectionately.

Robert rolled his eyes, but smiled.

"Don't get all sentimental. We were only gone a few hours."

"How was it? Have fun shopping?"

Robert snorted.

"Not particularly, but it was worth it to see the grin on Lorna's face."

"Yeah? I didn't see you bring anything in with you."

"Nah, I'm having it all delivered tomorrow."

"Is that so?" Max asked with a knowing smirk.

"Yeah. No way it was all gonna fit in the convertible."

"How much did you buy?"

"Honestly? I think I purchased half of the store. Probably should have just bought the whole place. Would have been cheaper."

Max hummed in amusement.

"Do you-"

Max paused, his head tilting. Robert gave him a knowing look.

"Go on." Robert said.

"You don't mind?" Max asked uncertainly.

"Love, if it bothered me, he wouldn't be sleeping in our bed."

Max greeted Charles at the door. He had been starting to take his loafers off, but stopped once he saw Max. Max pressed a kiss to his forehead and leaned down to slip the shoes off his feet, setting them on the shoe rack.

"Good day?"

"Decent. That kid I was telling you about, Raven, she's being a pain in my ass. I swear, I don't know what to do with her. She's a good kid. She's just not applying herself to her studies and is always getting into trouble."

"Sounds a bit like us growing up."

Charles rolled his eyes.

"I think you mean, it sounds a bit like you."

Max just smiled fondly at the man and lifted him out of his wheelchair. It wasn't very often that Charles used it in the house these days. Max was in the habit of carrying him around and Charles found it comforting. Sometimes, Max wondered if he wasn't really a Little, though he knew he wasn't. Charles had no interest in children's toys or shows or books. He did enjoy being taken care of, now that he'd finally allowed himself to be taken care of. He was resistant to it at first. His pride kept him from allowing Max to do anything more than strictly necessary. Now he enjoyed the reprieve. He could just relax and know that Max would keep him safe. It wasn't much unlike how Littles felt, except Charles didn't drop into headspace.

Max carried him up to the bedroom and laid him on the bed. He slipped off the man's slacks and pulled off the soggy diaper taped around his waist. He grabbed cream and powder, applying it to the slightly red skin around his genitals. Charles was blushing, but didn't complain. He couldn't go to the bathroom with out assistance anyways. Wearing protection was easier, this way he didn't have to be concerned about making it in time or not. He had control of his bladder, but he was completely reliant on others. Sure, if he was in his chair, he could get to the bathroom just fine, assuming there wasn't a set of stairs hindering him. The problem was, he couldn't get on or off by himself and wiping was difficult. He could wipe, but he had also face dived off the toilet once when he leaned too far forward, but couldn't plant his feet on the ground to keep from, well, face diving. Ever since then, he had almost completely stopped using the toilet. It was just easier that way. Besides, Max really didn't mind helping out. Which is why the man was currently putting a fresh diaper on him. He still kept on his suit, because he liked to look put together and he wasn't a Little.

Max didn't push him towards being infantile, though he did wish for it. He wouldn't make Charles do something he wasn't comfortable with. He was just happy to have someone to care for, even though that didn't include bottles or onesies. Max was okay with that. It wasn't what his partner needed. Not to mention, lots of Littles didn't need or want those things anyways. Max carried Charles down to the dining room with him where Robert was already seated.

"Hey, Charlie." Robert greeted him with a teasing smirk.

Charles narrowed his eyes at him playfully.

"Still not my name, Robbie."

Robert just grinned at him. He really did like the man. He wasn't in love with him, but that didn't matter. Sure, Robert had been feeling a tad bit insecure the past week or so, but he figured it would pass. Max just rolled his eyes at his partners and set Charles down in a chair. He let Robert carve the bird, while he lit the two tall candles that were placed on either side of it.

"Know where Lorna is?" He asked Robert.

"No clue."

Max sighed and stepped out into the hall.

"Lorna! Dinnertime!" He hollered up the massive staircase.

There was no guarantee she had heard him. The house they lived in was no typical suburban home. In fact, it sat on a couple dozen acres of land and was a couple hundred square feet. It was really more of a mansion than a house. He was glad when she emerged fairly quickly. Robert and Charles passed conversation around the table until then, Max mostly watched the clock.

"Ah, there you are."

Lorna came running into the room, panting heavily.

"Where have you been? You look like you just ran a marathon." Robert asked, amused.

"Oh, nowhere."

"Mmhmm, and what were you doing running from this nowhere, hm? You know how I feel about running in the house." Max reminded her, his tone disapproving.

Lorna just rolled her eyes, giving her dad an exasperated look.

"Papa, tell him he's being ridiculous. I'm not a child."

Robert just chuckled and reached for a latke.

"Robert, we haven't even sang the שהחינו yet. Put that down." Max scolded.

* * *

The menorah was lit in the window, casting a warm glow. Lorna watched it as her dad spun the dreidel on the the tabletop. Her papa was eating sufganiyot, the jelly filling oozing out and getting on his fingers. Charles smiled at him, amused. Lorna watched her papa grin and wink at the man, making him blush and grumble under his breath. Lorna shook her head. Honestly, she didn't understand why they weren't all in a relationship together. They were both her dad's partners, but they didn't consider themselves partners. Lorna didn't really get it, but she wasn't going to judge. Even if she felt like they all got along well enough to just be a triad. It wasn't that she didn't understand it, per se. She knew what a v shaped poly relationship was and she didn't think there was anything wrong with that. She just couldn't help but feel like it didn't make sense for the three of them in particular.

* * *

Max set Charles down on the couch and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"I'm going to go clean up, love. I'll be back."

Charles nodded and waved him off. He enjoyed Max's company and snuggling up to him, but he would be fine on his own. He didn't really need constant supervision, though Max definitely wanted to give him that. Charles didn't like it at first, but now he found that a fond feeling bloomed in his chest when Max gave him attention. Robert came in after a moment and plopped down on the couch too. Charles wasn't oblivious. He could tell there was something going on with him. He knew that the man wanted to say something, nut he gave him time to sort out his thoughts in peace. Charles leaned back and allowed his thoughts to wander as he waited patiently.

"I'm really glad you're here." Robert said at last.

Charles raised a brow at him.

"Is that so? You don't ever regret it?"

"No, I don't. Sometimes I worry, but I don't regret it. You're good for him, you know?"

"I think he's the one who's good for me actually." Charles murmured.

"Perhaps. Maybe it's a bit of both really."

Charles hummed in response, not really agreeing but not wanting to seem rude either. 

"What do you worry about?" Charles asked when Robert didn't elaborate.

Robert shrugged, but frowned and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm not important." Robert admitted.

Charles eyes got wide.

"What? That's not true, Robert." He insisted.

"No, I know that. We both have different roles to play in Max's life. It's just, there's this voice in my head that says I'm not enough for him. Maybe that is the case. I'm not a Little. I can't give him that, or rather I don't want to."

Charles nodded his head in understanding.

"I'm not a Little, either." He said.

"No, you're not." Robert agreed.

There was an unspoken but, that neither men explicitly acknowledged. They both knew that Charles filled that role for the Caregiver, even if it wasn't in the most traditional sense. Charles didn't talk like a child or necessarily even act younger, but he did wear diapers and let Max carry him around. Technically, he could use the toilet, as long as someone helped him on and off, and he had a wheelchair, so he didn't really need to be carried around all the time. He didn't require all of the things that Max did for him, but he did enjoy them, for the most part at least. He still wished that he could do things for himself, but he wasn't physically capable of doing everything on his own anymore. Letting Max do more than was necessary hadn't come naturally to him, but knowing that Max got something out of it made Charles feel like he was being useful. The Caregiver needed someone to care for and Charles was able to give him that, even if he couldn't give him anything else.

"I'm not trying to replace you Robert. I just don't mind letting him take care of me. It makes him happy and that's good enough for me. I also feel like I'm not important sometimes. It's true that Max does day to day things for me, but as a partner, I feel rather useless. I can't provide for him physically the way you do. It makes me feel like I'm not a very good boyfriend."

Robert frowned at that.

"He loves you and I, well, I care about you, Charles. You are very important. To both of us." Robert said, sincerely.

Charles swallowed at his words and looked away from the man.

"I appreciate you saying that, but you really don't have to."

Robert quirked a brow at him. Charles glanced back at him and blushed. Robert flashed him a mischievous grin.

"Well, as I've said before, you're more than welcome to join us when we have sex, Charles." Robert said unabashedly.

Charles coughed and cleared his throat.

"No, thank you. That's quite alright."

Robert shrugged.

"The offer still stands. You already sleep in our bed. You might as well be our husband at this point."

"Yes, but sleeping next to me is different than having sex with me."

"I wouldn't be opposed to it, is all I'm saying."

"Yes, well, I appreciate that. It's not- Besides we're not even in a relationship with each other." Charles reminded him.

"But we could be."

Robert had certainly considered it in the months since Charles came to stay with them.

"...you're not in love with me." Charles said after a moment of hesitation.

"No, I'm not, but I do care for you. Falling in love can take time. Sex doesn't have to. I had sex with Max on our first date. Didn't say I love you until two years later. By then we were already half way to the alter." Robert joked.

Charles rolled his eyes.

"I'm not sure I share your desire to jump in bed with someone I don't truly care for." Charles grumbled.

Robert smiled, giving the man a fond look.

"Perhaps not, but I think you do care for me, Charles. I think you're rather fond of me and I you. We don't have to be in love to care about one another. Like I said, love can take time."

Charles swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing. He looked at Robert blushing, but held his gaze, searching his eyes for answers. Max entered the room just then, unaware of their conversation. He glanced at the TV that was off, before turning his eyes to his two partners. Robert smirked at him. Charles was blushing hard and didn't meet his eyes. Max raised a brow.

"Did I miss something?"

Robert chuckled and stood up, shaking his head. Max walked over and pressed a kiss to his lips. He turned and scooped up Charles, setting the man down in his lap. Charles leaned back, resting against him automatically. His eyes got wide when Robert leaned over, cupping his cheek with his large hand. Max was puzzled, but didn't say anything. He watched curiously, wondering what on earth he had missed. Robert brushed his thumb over Charles' cheekbone, and smiled softly at him.

"Can I?"

Charles nodded, dumbstruck. Robert leaned in further, brushing his lips lightly against the man's. He pulled away and smirked.

"Well, I'm going to go get in a quick work out."

Max rolled his eyes. A quick work out for Robert meant he'd be in the home gym for the rest of the evening.

"So, what did you two talk about?" He asked when Robert was out of sight.

"I think we're dating now." Charles replied thoughtfully.

* * *

Wanda and Billy placed offerings of harvested vegetables on the altar. It was adorned with stones and herbs from the greenhouse garden that Tony had in his tower, as well as some clay figures of gods and goddesses. Tommy was at Paul's house, since he didn't celebrate Yuletide or participate in their rituals. They sang songs and chanted over the crackling of flames, while dancing around the fireplace. If it wasn't so cold and rainy, they would have gone outside for the spiritual rite.

Wanda knelt on her knees, sweat glistening on her skin in the orangey glow of the fire and gazed at it. She breathed in the sandalwood that was burning in the incense holder. The trail of smoke billowed out of the tip, swirling in the air. Billy stopped next to her, kneeling down and picking up one of the stones off of the altar. He held it in his hands, bringing them to the center of his chest and closing his eyes.

Wanda smiled softly at her son, before shifting her focus back to the dancing flames in front of her. A sense of peace and calm filled her, replacing the surge of power and strength that had coursed through her veins as she'd danced and their voices filled the open space. Her eyes fluttered closed, her palms facing towards the fire feeling the heat wafting off of it. She reveled in the energy that caressed her. Allowing love and gratitude to flow into her until it overflowed, spilling out into the world around her.

* * *

"Do you ever wonder about your birth parents?"

Wanda looked up at her son who was sitting with her on the couch as they enjoyed the way the flames crackled in the fireplace. She pursed her lips, but didn't respond right away. She knew very little about her birth parents. She knew her mother had left her and her brother with a man named Herbert. He had been the one that had contacted her parents, the ones who raised her. Other than that, there wasn't much else. Her and her brother each had a crocheted baby blanket their birth mother had made for them. Billy and Tommy now had the blankets. It made sense to Wanda that Pietro would want to give his blanket over to Tommy, seeing as the child, though was being raised by Wanda as her son and Billy's twin, was actually the son of Pietro and his deceased wife, though the boy was unaware of this fact. She wasn't so sure she wanted to know more about the woman that birthed her or the man that had, clearly, not been in the picture. She didn't want her son to feel like he couldn't ask her about it though, so she decided to be honest with him.

"I do, sometimes. I'm not sure I'd like what I'd find, if I sought out answers, so I haven't."

Billy nodded, holding his scarlet red blankie up to his face and inhaling the scent of it. It always managed to smell like a crisp night, the fresh air lingering in the fabric. The scent was soothing to the Little. To Wanda it always made a distant memory flash through her mind. A vague recollection of a time from when she was too young to truly remember it. A flash of a woman's lips moving as she sang a Polish lullaby. She smiled down at her son and ran her hands through his hair. She didn't need to know about her past. Her children were her future and that was more than enough for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really curious to know if any of you know who Max is. I'll be honest, I don't know a whole lot about x-men. I have seen a couple of the movies, but my knowledge isn't very extensive. I also had never heard of the Whizzer before doing more research into Wanda's past, so yeah, idk. I'm pretty fond of these characters now. 
> 
> Lemme know what you think of them.
> 
> 2/20/2021-in case you're wondering Max is Magneto, Charles is Professor x, and Robert is The Whizzer, also I added that bit about Pietro being Tommy's son which wasn't originally brought up this early on
> 
> As always thanks for the love and support! Keep reading, commenting and leaving kudos. I promise I always reply to your comments, I love to hear what you guys think. Feel free to leave suggestions too, because a lot of this series is very up in the air.
> 
> שהחינו (shehecheyanu) - a prayer sung on the first night of Hannukah


	8. Christmas Eve

Rhodey was upset when he arrived at the tower to find out that his bestfriend had a dispute, as Bruce had called it, with Steve and was hiding away in his lab. He had half a mind to storm down there and insist Tony talks to him. Bruce stopped him though.

"I know you want what's best for Tony, but we've tried talking to him. He doesn't want to talk to us." Bruce said.

"He'll want to see me though." Rhodey insisted.

Bruce smiled sadly.

"Stark loves you, Rhodes, that's very obvious. I have a feeling that the person he really wants to see right now, is sulking up on his floor. Steve hasn't gone into work or aged down since they stopped talking. He barely acknowledges us and has spent an extraordinary amount of time at church. We're fairly certain he's praying that all of this will just go away."

Rhodey gritted his teeth and turned to Pepper.

"What do you think? You've known Tony almost as long as I have. Do you think he wants to be alone down there? It's the day before Christmas for God's sake."

Pepper sighed.

"First of all, the two week difference between when we met Tony doesn't count. It took you guys multiple months to get over that whole stupid bench debacle and even become friends. Second of all, no. I don't believe Tony wants to be alone. I do, however, agree with Bruce. Tony needs Rogers right now. Since, they both seem reluctant to reach out to each other, I'd say Barnes is probably the only one who can mend that bridge right now."

Rhodey wasn't happy with her answer, but accepted it with a curt nod.

"Fine. Where the hell is Barnes anyways? Don't tell me he's sulking too."

"Unfortunately, no. That would make things easier. Barnes is-" Pepper paused before adding delicately. "Indisposed."

"The fuck does that mean, Pep?"

"What she's trying to say, in the awkward way only a Dom could put it, is that our медвежонок is too Little to be asked to fix this." Natasha explained 

Rhodey scoffed and shook his head.

"Then, we tell him to get Big. This is serious. Tony's probably heartbroken. I'm not going to just sit around and do nothing. So either, send in one of these damn lover boys, or let me go talk to Tony."

"I already inquired about that possibility. Sam refuses to insist that he be Big." Pepper said calmly, but she shared an irritated look with Rhodey.

The two Doms were always baffled by the lack of control that the Caregivers Tony knew had over their Littles. Natasha rolled her eyes and narrowed them at the two Doms.

"You're both way out of your league here. You don't know what you're talking about." Natasha snapped.

"What I think Natasha is trying to relay, is that Barnes is handling this stress by being Little. Forcing him out of his headspace could be detrimental for his mental well being." Bruce added quickly.

"What about Tony's well being?" Rhodey shot back.

"We're not saying this is ideal, Rhodes. We're just saying that putting more pressure on a kid who feels like his family is falling apart, isn't the answer." Bruce said.

"Why can't I just try? Tony will listen to me."

"I have a strong feeling that Barnes will choose to be Big if Stark isn't at dinner. It's not a guarantee, but I've worked alongside Barnes for a while now. I think he'll do something about this. Bruce and I have agreed, that if Barnes doesn't, we'll step in." Natasha said.

Rhodey opened his mouth to protest.

"And if you want that to look like you going in there, then that's fine." Natasha added, cutting him off.

"I don't like it." Rhodey said, immediately.

"No one likes it, but this isn't our battle to fight. This is their relationship and quite frankly, Stark isn't exactly in the right here." Natasha said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rhodey snarled, his tone dripping venom.

"It means, that Stark found out his partners identify as Christian and then stormed off." Natasha's voice was deadly calm.

"Tony's not a bigot. He doesn't care about that sort of thing." Rhodey said, quick to defend his best friend.

"That may be the case, but it doesn't change what happened. I think it's reasonable that Rogers feels hurt. He opened up to his boyfriend, only to be shut out." Natasha reasoned. 

"So, this is all Tony's fault. That's what you're trying to tell me?"

"No. What I'm saying, is that neither of them handled this situation well. It's still their relationship and they have to sort this out themselves. Whether we agree with how they do this or not, isn't exactly our place to judge."

Rhodey looked like he wanted to argue more, but Pepper put up her hand up to silence him.

"I understand what you're saying, Romanoff. We will agree to your terms. If Barnes or Rogers doesn't fix this before the end of dinner and Tony doesn't show up. We send Rhodey in."

* * *

It was Christmas eve and Bucky was pissed off when he showed up to dinner. Everyone was there. Everyone that is, except Tony. The stress of Tony and Steve not talking had been weighing on Bucky's shoulders. He had only been Big once since Tony left Sam's without even a goodbye. Bucky had cried a lot and acted out in numerous ways. Sam tried to be patient and kind, but was worried out of his damn mind and, quite frankly, very close to snapping.

It wasn't the first time Bucky had struggled after a relationship problem. Sam did notice that Tony seemed to be a key factor in all of them though. Sam didn't blame Tony, by any means, though he did wish they'd all talk this out together. It was just a pattern Sam was starting to pick up on. The first time that Sam was aware of was when they were back in college. They met Tony and he had flirted with both of them. At least, Steve had said it was both of them. Bucky seemed convinced he was trying to steal away his boyfriend. He had dropped that evening and the next few days had been rough. Then, Bucky got Big again and started up a thing with Natasha, and though he refused to admit it was just to rile up Steve, Sam could tell that's all it was. Bucky and Natasha were good friends, especially when they were Little, but they didn't seem particularly interested in each other, in a romantic or sexual sense.

Steve insisted that Bucky was cheating on him and needed to leave Natasha. To be fair, it wasn't an agreed upon thing, so Bucky was cheating, since they had never considered opening up their relationship to someone else and they weren't in an open relationship. So, Sam thought it was reasonable that Steve would be upset about it. Sam had been upset about it and he wasn't even the one being cheated on. The two men had a screaming match, that Sam wasn't present for, but apparently the whole agency seemed to have witnessed it, even though technically Steve and Bucky weren't supposed to be dating. No one at the agency really seemed to care about that though and Director Fury had made it clear that anyone who had a problem with it would have to deal with him. From what Steve had told Sam he knew that Bucky had kissed Natasha in the mess hall and it had the desired effect of leaving Steve jealous, angry and hurt.

Sam tried to keep out of it, but when Steve broke down crying and begged him to talk to Bucky, he did. Bucky shouted at Sam for interfering, but eventually calmed down and agreed he'd mishandled the whole situation. Sam convinced them to sit down together and talk through their obvious jealousy. Steve wasn't thrilled that Bucky didn't break it off with Natasha immediately and Sam was exasperated that Bucky was being so stubborn about the matter, since Bucky had already admitted he was in the wrong. He just couldn't seem to let it go. The next few weeks Bucky would show up at Sam's after college and crash hard. He threw rage-filled tantrums and when he did manage to be Big, he got into fights with Steve.

Steve wasn't much better. When the two were Little together they fought nonstop. Calling each other names, refusing to share and just generally wreaking havoc on their surroundings. It was a disaster. Sam had only been their Caregiver for a couple of months at that point and he remembered feeling like he was in way over his head. He seriously was left wondering if taking in two Littles who were in relationship when they were Big was a bad idea.

Then, one day, Steve brought a crying Bucky to Sam's. Bucky had wet himself at college, but Tony had jumped in and pulled the kid into the bathroom, before anyone could notice and had called Steve, then left Bucky crying in the stall. Bucky had been very upset that the man had left him all alone. Steve wasn't thrilled about that part either. After that, things settled down. Steve was unhappy with Tony which Bucky seemed smug about. Not to mention Tony suddenly stopped trying to flirt with either of them. In fact, Tony tried to distance himself as much as he could from the two. When they became friends with Tony a couple of months later, it wasn't so bad. Bucky still got jealous at times, but Steve insisted there was nothing going on and limited his interactions with Tony. Since Tony didn't flirt with Steve, Bucky seemed able to except this. Though, he definitely hadn't been a huge fan of the man.

The next time they got into a fight was after they found out about Tony's secret. That all got sorted out quickly enough though. When Tony got Big and hid out in his lab, it did cause a rift between the two men. It wasn't anger towards each other or Tony that did it. Rather, it was that they were both worried sick and didn't know how to solve the issue.

Overall, they usually got along well and didn't have many large disputes within their relationship. So, Sam wasn't thrilled to see Bucky struggling so much. He knew Steve was also struggling, but he wasn't letting Sam see it. He was deliberately suppressing his Little side so he didn't have be around Bucky. It was all very frustrating for Sam.

So, when Bucky entered the common floor to find that Tony wasn't there, Sam wasn't surprised that he threw a huge fit over it. The other Caregivers all jumped in to try and appease him. Everyone was very aware that Steve and Tony weren't talking and Sam had turned to the other adults for support. He was trying his best to be understanding with the kid, but his patience was wearing thin. Sam found himself feeling glad to drop him off with Phil and May, so he didn't have to deal with his tantrums. He stayed later at work than necessary, just so he could put Bucky to bed as soon as they got home. Sam felt awful about it. The guilt was eating away at him, but he found himself really fighting the urge to get mad at Bucky. Which is why Sam let the other adults step in. Steve stayed back and looked miserable. Sam was so worn out and Steve looked the way he felt. He went to Steve and offered the man a hug and a pat on the back.

When Bucky eventually calmed down, he shocked everyone by getting Big. One moment he was a crying Little collapsing in Thor's arms. The next moment he was a pissed off adult. He turned his glare on Steve.

"Where the hell is Tony?" He demanded.

Steve shook his head and looked like he was about to start crying.

"He's in his lab, Buck." Steve said sounding lost.

That was all Bucky needed to hear. He entered the elevator, snapping at JARVIS to take him down to Tony's lab. Tony was trying to keep himself distracted, when Bucky marched into his lab. His arms were crossed and, quite frankly, the man looked pissed. Tony looked up, nervously fidgeting with the tool in his hand.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"What are you talking about, Barnes?" Tony said dismissively.

Bucky glared at him.

"Don't do that. Don't push me away."

Tony looked down at the tool in his hands, twirling it between his fingers. Bucky snatched it out of his grasp, slamming it on the desk.

"God dammit, Tony. Put that down and look at me." Bucky snapped.

Tony swallowed, tears stinging his eyes. He'd really fucked this up big time, but he didn't know how to solve it. Was saying sorry even good enough now?

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"Dammit, Tony. You're sorry? I don't want an apology. I want a fucking explanation."

"I-" Tony tried, but the words caught in his throat.

He didn't even know what he was trying to say.

"Tell me please. I need to know why my boyfriend's hiding away from me, while our other boyfriend cries himself to sleep." Bucky begged, his voice lowered. "Please."

Bucky had actually only been with Steve one night, since all of this happened. Steve had cried himself to sleep in his arm's that night and he wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't the only night recently, that he'd done so. Tony's eyes got wide. Steve was crying himself to sleep?

"Steve? He's- Why?"

Bucky gave him a disbelieving look.

"Why? Because he thinks you hate him."

Tony was baffled by that. Why would Steve think that? How could he think that?

"What? Why? I don't hate him. I could never." Tony insisted.

Bucky sighed.

"I know that, Tony. I tried to tell Stevie that, but he's not gonna believe it coming from me. It's gotta come from you."

"I- I can't."

"Why? Is this really all because you found out we're Christian? It doesn't matter, doll. I promise you it doesn't change anything. You mean the world to us, Tony."

The tears fell at those words, spoken so softly and earnestly. Tony wrapped his arms around Bucky and Bucky pulled him close.

"I've missed you." He admitted.

"God, I've missed you so much, baby. We're lost without you. We always were, we just didn't know it until we had you. Now please, tell me why you've been hiding away."

Tony swallowed again, pulling back slightly.

"I-I was scared." Tony whispered.

"Scared of what?"

Bucky's eyes searched Tony's, looking for answers.

"Scared that Steve wouldn't be okay with me not sharing his beliefs, or that it would cause problems that I couldn't fix." Tony admitted.

He'd realized why he was hiding away, that his fears and uncertainty all stemmed from his concern that they'd leave him because they were disappointed in him. Because they'd finally realize that this was all a mistake. Because it would matter that Steve's beliefs were so drastically different from his. Bucky scoffed, sounding like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Tony, I love you, but you're not exactly inconspicuous with your beliefs or lack thereof. We know you don't believe in God. We knew that a long time ago. We honestly don't care.

"What? How?"

"You've talked about it on multiple occasions. Usually, when you're drunk and in the form of a rant. It's pretty obvious that you're an Atheist. We never cared about that. Love, you don't have to share our beliefs."

"I don't?"

"Of course not, doll. Besides, Stevie and I don't share the exact same beliefs."

"Really? Steve said you're Christian." Tony asked, confused.

"Yeah, and, your point?" Bucky said, raising his brow.

"Isn't he also Christian? Doesn't that mean you share the same beliefs?"

Bucky snorted.

"Sure, you could say that. It wouldn't make it true though. You do realize their are hundreds of denominations of Christianity, right? Not all of them share the same beliefs. Stevie and I were raised very differently. We don't necessarily believe the things we were raised to believe, but our upbringing did effect the things we believe now. He was raised Catholic by a loving mother. I was raised Anglican by two shit parents. There's a big difference. And sure, Stevie's a Christian now, but sharing the same faith and even attending the same church, doesn't automatically mean you believe the exact same things."

Tony was really trying to wrap his mind around this. He really was. He was just struggling with it. He honestly couldn't fathom why they would be religious or accept some unproven concept, like a higher power.

"So, you're not Christian?" Tony clarified, feeling really lost.

"No, I am. I always was growing up and I converted to Progressive Christianity when Stevie did."

"Wait a minute. Steve said he was a Protestant."

"Yeah, he is. We both are. That just means we follow a reformed church."

"And you believe in God and all that?"

Bucky looked deeply amused by Tony's line of questioning.

"I don't know about all that, but I do believe in God."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows. He prided himself in understanding things, but religion was a concept he had always failed to grasp. It just didn't make sense, logically speaking.

"I don't get it." Tony admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"Babe, there's nothing to get. I'm a Protestant in name, but not in practice. That's all there is to it. I promise, it doesn't matter."

"Okay, fine. That's, whatever." Tony accepted, reluctantly.

Bucky laughed and pulled Tony against him until they were pressed together. He pressed a kiss to his lips before pulling back.

"What if it does become a problem though?" Tony asked.

"Then, we'll deal with it then, but it's not a problem right now."

"Okay, I think I can accept that."

"Okay. Good. Can we go see Stevie now?"

Tony tensed. What if Steve didn't want to see him?

"No, I can't."

Tony shook his head, pushing against Bucky's chest.

"Hey, shh. Come here. Relax. He's not mad at ya."

Bucky wrapped his arm's around him tighter, so Tony was flush against him again.

"He's not?" Tony said, his voice muffled as he tucked his head into Bucky's neck.

"Well, I mean, he's not thrilled. You have been hiding away for almost two weeks and it's Christmas eve, but he's doesn't hate ya or nothin'."

"Wait, what?" Tony said, startled.

"What?"

Bucky pulled back looking at Tony.

"It's Christmas eve?"

"Of course it is. Did you seriously not know that?"

"No, I didn't."

Tony hadn't intended to stay in his lab so long. The time had just slipped away from him. He was too caught up in his mind. His fears, worries, and doubts swirling around in his head. He had barely noticed how long he'd been down here.

"How is that even possible? You literally stare at screens all day and JARVIS wouldn't let you forget something like that."

Tony looked away sheepishly.

"I muted JARVIS. He was nagging me and I didn't want to deal with him."

Bucky gave him an exasperated look.

"Come on."

He pulled Tony out of the lab and into the elevator. Tony was nervous as they stepped out. He had been expecting them to go to his and Steve's floor, but instead, they entered the common floor. Even worse, all of his friends were seated at the table, clearly eating Christmas dinner. His eyes got wide when he took in the sight and he tried to tug his arm out of Bucky's steel grip, but Bucky wouldn't let go. He pulled Tony over to Steve and practically shoved him into his lap. Steve looked startled, catching Tony, so he wouldn't fall off his lap and hit the ground.

"Stevie, Tony would like to apologize for being an idiot."

"Hey! I'm a genius." Tony protested, offended by the insinuation.

Bucky narrowed his eyes at Tony.

"Oh yeah? 'Cause for a genius, you're acting pretty stupid."

Tony resented that.

"Bucky, it's fine. Tony doesn't have to apologize." Steve said.

Tony gave Bucky a smug look and stuck his tongue out at him before leaning instinctively into Steve.

"Fuck that! He owes you an apology."

There were murmurs around the table at Bucky's use of profanity, but no one told him off for it. Generally, they tried not to swear when their were dropped Littles present, though Tony and Bucky weren't really known for following that unspoken rule.

"I thought you said I don't need to apologize." Tony countered.

"No, I said, I don't want your apology. I'll be damned if you don't apologize to my boyfriend."

Tony jumped up at that, getting in Bucky's face.

"You're boyfriend? He's my boyfriend too, Barnes." Tony sneered.

"Damn right he is, Stark. Now apologize and kiss and makeup already. I'm hungry and ready to be done with this shit."

Tony huffed, but turned back to Steve. There was a blush on the man's cheeks. Tony couldn't help but find it adorable. Tony cast a glance around the room and raised a brow at everyone. They quickly focused on their food and conversation started back up around the table. Tony smirked and climbed back onto Steve's lap. This time straddling his thighs.

"I'm sorry, okay. I was being a dick. I was scared and it was stupid and I shouldn't have done it. Jesus, I feel like a child being scolded and confessing their wrong doings."

Steve gave him an amused look.

"Well thank god I'm not your Caregiver then."

Tony snorted, then his face went serious.

"No, you're not, but you are my boyfriend and that means I can't just shut you out and hide away from you."

Steve smiled softly.

"I appreciate that, Tony."

His arms wrapped around Tony's waist, and he leaned in to kiss him. Tony put his hands on his chest to stop him. Steve looked slightly hurt, but leaned back.

"Why didn't you come for me?" Tony's voice was small and fragile, the words barely a whisper.

Steve's eyes got big.

"We- I just- I didn't think you wanted that. I thought if I gave you space, you'd come out when you were ready."

Tony frowned, but nodded. Bucky stepped forward and brushed his fingers through Tony's hair before sitting down next to them.

"Sorry, doll. We didn't know that's what you wanted."

Bucky didn't mention that he'd been Little almost the whole time. He didn't feel it was fair to dump all of the blame on Steve. Tony whimpered and hid his face in Steve's neck. He inhaled, taking in the scent of his boyfriend mixed with the smell of turkey and pecan pie that lingered in the air and relaxed against him. Steve's hands rubbed his back soothingly. Tony had pretty much forgotten about their friends being present. Maybe they should have had this conversation in private, but Tony really didn't care.

Bucky was eating and Tony could hear chatter around them. He didn't pay it any attention. He was exhausted. Not just from fatigue, though his sleep schedule had taken a deep dive. The emotional turmoil was having a negative impact on him as well. He yawned and brushed his nose against Steve's neck. The clatter of utensils on plates and the voices of his friends surrounded Tony as he floated in and out of sleep. No one engaged him in conversation for a while, though Steve talked lively, clearly feeling much better, now that he had his lover wrapped up safely in his arm's. Bucky was mostly quiet, not that that was shocking. He did compliment the food at one point, but other than that he ate in silence. Sam was the first one to speak to Tony. He walked over and put a hand on his shoulder lightly to get his attention. Tony looked up bleary eyed, blinking the heavy weight of sleep from his eyes. Sam smiled softly at him.

"I'm glad to see you again, Tony. Are you okay?"

Tony shrugged, another yawn escaping him. It clicked in his mind after a moment that his Caregiver was probably trying to discern if he was Little or not. Tony took a second to figure out if he was. He was definitely somewhere in between headspaces, but he wasn't fully dropped. He lifted his head and pushed back enough that he wasn't draped over Steve. His fists rubbed at his eyes and he realized that9 he really wanted to drop. It had been over two weeks since he had. He opened up his mouth to tell Sam that he wanted to be Little, but the words refused to form. They stayed caught in his throat. He pouted at his Caregiver, who was waiting patiently for an answer.

"Sammy." He whimpered instead.

Sam's eyes widened slightly. That might have been the first time Tony had called him that. Tony wasn't sure. His thoughts were lagging. It definitely didn't happen often, if it's ever happened.

"Ah, baby. Do you wanna go see, Sammy?" Steve all but cooed.

Tony frowned at him. What kind of a question was that? Of course he wanted Sam, he hasn't seen him in two weeks. He didn't say that though. He just reached out, making grabby hands at Sam. He received a smile in return and was scooped out of Steve's lap. Sam took his seat next to Bucky and coaxed the sleepy baby into eating some mashed potatoes. Tony took a few bites, but wasn't particularly interested in it. He did stick his finger in the fluffy white pile and his digit smooshed into it. Sam chuckled and pulled his hand away from the plate, pushing it out of reach of wandering hands.

Tony looked around the table that had been extended with leaves to fit everyone, fully taking in his surroundings. He wasn't surprised to find that he wasn't the only one Little. With the excitement of presents in the morning, it only made sense. Phil and May had Jemma seated in between them. Clint was leaning against Phil's chest accepting bites of food and chatting to Tasha with his mouth full. May scolded him lightly for it, but didn't seem like she was going to press the matter right before Christmas. Tasha and Skye were next to Phil and Grant, Bruce and Leo were on May's other side. Rhodey and Pepper were there, across the table from Tony. He looked away shyly when Pepper smiled at him. Wade had Peter in his lap and Thor had Loki in his. Darcy was texting on her phone with a small smile on her lips and Tony wondered if she had a partner she was talking to or if it was just a friend. Jane was talking to Wanda who had both of her boys sitting next to her.

It seemed that the only Littles who weren't Little were Steve and Bucky. Though it was always hard to tell with Darcy. Tony frowned. He wondered if he was the reason they hadn't dropped yet. Were they too worried about him to let go? He tugged on Sam's sleeve, drawing the man's attention to Tony.

"What is it, buddy?" Sam asked, looking down at him.

"Bwudda?" He questioned, tilting his head.

Sam raised a brow. Tony looked pointedly at Bucky and Steve. Sam followed his gaze and smiled gently.

"I think they're Big, right now, Tony."

Tony frowned. He knew that. He wanted them to not be though, or at least he wanted them to know they could be Little, if they wanted to be. He squirmed in Sam's lap. It was then that he realized he was still in his Big clothes. His eyes got wide and he clenched his thighs together, hoping he didn't wet himself. A lot of the time he didn't even noticed it happening when he was Little. Sam scooped him up, taking him to the guest room that was set up for younger Littles. They kept spare diapers, pull-ups and clothes for all of the Littles in there, as well as some toys and pacifiers. He quickly put Tony in a diaper and a onesie with a river and a tree on the front that said happy camper in block letters.

When he carried Tony back to the table, the Little squirmed in his arm's, kicking his feet to be let down. Sam obliged and set him on his feet. Tony's legs felt a little unsteady under him, but he was only a few steps away from Bucky. The man reached out to stabilize him as soon as he was in reach.

"Bucky?" He asked.

Bucky's eyes lit up and he cooed down at Tony. Tony just frowned at him. He was clearly still Big. Tony didn't know why though. Tony was Little. They'd all made up. Why weren't they dropping?

"Do ya wanna sit with me?" 

Tony shook his head. That's not what he wanted. Bucky holding him on his lap wasn't likely to lead to him dropping. Bucky frowned slightly.

"Whaddya want, baby?" He questioned, confused.

"P'ay." Tony demanded.

Bucky smiled and shared an amused look with Steve. Sam smiled at the baby. He had a feeling he knew what Tony was after. Bucky stood up and held Tony's hand, letting him pull him over to the chest of toys that were up against the wall. There was enough times when they had Littles on the common floor to make it worth keeping some toys in the living room. Tony dug around in it, pulling out an airplane and passed it to Bucky. He reached in again, pulling out a truck. He looked around and made eye contact with Steve who had turned in his chair to watch the two. Tony held up the toy to him. Steve got up obediently and joined them, sitting down, and accepting the toy truck. Tony nodded in approval. Clint came running up as Tony was digging around in the chest again.

"Tony, can I pway wif ya?"

Tony's eyes darted to Clint before he looked away shyly. He nodded, but didn't make eye contact with the boy. Clint didn't seem to mind. He took the ambulance Tony offered him and starting driving it around. Tony was pleased with Clint's sound effects and pulled out a police car for himself. Other Littles filtered over, taking out toys and spreading them across the floor. Tony was happy about it. Sometimes it could be a little overwhelming when so many Littles were playing together, but Tony liked it. It was loud and chaotic, which he didn't like so much, but it meant that all his friends were together and comfortable enough to just let go. It helped Steve and Bucky to drop too. The adults had come over and settled on the couches, chatting and watching the Littles play. Sam took Steve and Bucky to get changed when he noticed they'd dropped. Tony climbed up on Rhodey's lap once he was satisfied that Steve and Bucky were relaxed enough to be Little and dozed off in his best friend's arms. He woke up to the excited sounds of Littles opening presents. He blinked, wondering if he'd slept all the way until Christmas morning. Of course that seemed unlikely, seeing as he was still in Rhodey's arms and not at Sam's.

"Hey, little man. You woke up just in time to open your present." Rhodey said to him.

Tony tilted his head up to look at Rhodey.

"Hey, baby boy. Ready to open your gift?" Sam asked him.

He had a present in his hand that was wrapped in red and gold paper. Tony took the parcel, tearing at the glossy paper. He giggled at the way it shredded in his hands and spent longer than necessary ripping it up. Sam didn't stop him, but he shared an amused look with Rhodey. The actual gift was of secondary importance to Tony. It seemed to be some kind of fabric, soft under his fingers. When he had thoroughly shredded the paper into small bits, he lifted it up off his lap and rubbed the fuzzy material against his cheek. Tony had always liked soft things. Sam smiled at him.

"Do you like it? They're pyjamas." He told Tony.

Tony looked at them and found he was right. They were Curious George footie pyjamas. He grinned and cuddled them against his chest.

"Look Tony, I got PJ's too." Bucky said, holding up a pair of light blue Frozen pyjamas. They were also footie pyjamas.

Steve was talking excitedly with Billy, comparing their PJ masks pyjamas. Theirs were two piece sets with long bottoms and long-sleeved tops. Tony looked around to see that all the Littles had opened up a present and received PJ's. The younger Littles had footie PJ's, like Tony and Bucky. The girls all had nightgowns and the older boys had two piece sets. Tony figured this must be a tradition or something. Tony had never really stuck around for holidays, so he was out of the loop. He found that he liked it. Especially because he was one of the Littles receiving a gift. It almost seemed silly for something as simple as this to make Tony so happy. He was a billionaire. He could easily buy himself a whole collection of footie pyjamas, but there was something about getting it as a gift that he thought made it special. They weren't just any pyjamas either, they were clearly picked out just for Tony.

"Alright, little man. I've gotta head out, but I'll see you again before I ship off. Okay?" Rhodey told him.

"Whodey?" He questioned, tilting his head at his bestfriend.

"I promise, Tones."

He pressed a kiss to the baby's head and passed him off to Sam. Tony pouted, but was quickly distracted by the commotion around him. Phil was trying to coax Clint into one of the guestrooms. The toddler was stripping off his shirt eager to try on his new outfit. Clint was too Little to care right now, but he'd definitely be embarrassed about it when he was Big if everyone saw him in nothing but his pull-up. Phil grabbed his hands as they tugged at his pants and scooped the toddler into his arms. Clint whined and pouted, but Phil just shushed him and carried him into a guest room. He had Clint's new purple Octonauts PJ's in his hand.

Tony was dressed in his new Curious George PJ's as he was laid down for bed that night. He was asleep when they got back home. Sam carried the baby in, quieting Steve and Bucky. The two Littles were very excited about tomorrow. They had sent out letters to Santa, addressed to the North Pole, earlier in the month and couldn't wait to see if Santa would bring them everything they'd asked for. Sam tucked the baby into bed with a kiss on his head, setting his puppy next to him. He turned on the nightlight that casted stars across the ceiling before tiptoeing out of the room. Tony had had a long couple of weeks and deserved a good nights rest.

Sam let his older boys watch Frosty the Snowman and followed it up with Frozen Fever for Bucky's sake. They set out milk and cookies, that Sam had made with Bucky earlier in the day when it was done. After going potty, brushing teeth and changing Bucky into a clean pull-up, they went off to bed too.

Sam read them T'was the night before Christmas and how the Grinch stole Christmas. Their eyes were wide with excitement and shining with hope. Sam smiled at them and kissed their heads.

"Night, kids. Merry Christmas."

"Night, Sammy." Steve replied absently.

"Yeah, nigh', Sammy."

They were already lost in talk about what the morning would entail by the time Sam exited the room. He left the door cracked open.

Sam wasn't a religious person. He was raised religious, but it wasn't something he cared for. He did however care deeply for his Littles. Tony may be an atheist, but Steve and Bucky weren't. Bucky didn't really seem to care much about the religious aspects of Christmas, but Sam knew that Steve did. It mattered to him that they hang up a cross on the wall and read passages from the bible and talk about the birth of Jesus on Christmas morning. Steve was the reason they had a nativity scene set up on a side table in front of the window. Sam knew that singing Christmas songs and going to service on Christmas eve mattered to Steve, even if Bucky really only cared for the songs. Steve always made a point of teaching Bucky why we have Christmas and dragging his boyfriend with him to church when they were both Big.

It didn't matter to Sam. He didn't care about any of that, but he cared about Steve. He cared that it mattered to his boy. So he indulged the Little every year for Christmas. He read him passages from the bible and let him hang a cross on the door when they put up decorations. Sam knew that Steve purposefully didn't mention his beliefs much. He knew that the Little didn't want to burden his Caregiver with things that weren't important to Sam. Which is the main reason Sam felt it was so important to do these things for Steve during the holidays. Bucky always complained about church, but he did it, because it made Steve happy. Sam could understand that. He didn't particularly like reading from the bible, but he did it, because it made his Little happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> медвежонок(myedvyejonok) - teddy bear ( a term of endearment used specifically for someone who likes or has a connection to bears) chosen because of Bucky's attachment to his Bucky Bear, of course!


	9. Christmas Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is a kinda intense scene in this one, where Tony remembers something from his childhood and both Steve and Bucky are triggered by it.
> 
> It's directly after the first time skip, but things go back to being happy after that.

The sun filtered through the window, as a snowstorm raged on in the early morning hours on the streets of Manhattan. The smell of a honey baked ham filled the small apartment as Tony drifted awake. The bed was empty and he pouted. He didn't want to be alone. He rolled out of bed, the sheets tangling around his legs, holding him captive as he fell the short distance to the carpet. It didn't hurt since the mattress was only a couple inches off the ground. Tony fought to untangle himself, but his efforts were futile. His lip quivered, and tears of frustration poured down his cheeks. Before he knew it, he was wailing. Sam heard the baby and immediately went to get him. Tony was crying on the floor, sheets around his legs, and he reached his arms out for Sam.

"Oh, you poor baby. Let me help you." Sam cooed down at him.

He scooped him up, unwrapping the sheets and dropping them on the bed.

"That's better."

Sam wished the baby a merry Christmas as he made quick work of changing him, but left him in his Curios George pyjamas.

"Come on, let's go see your brothers. They're waiting for you."

The two older boys had already been up for sometime. Of course they wanted to wake Tony so they could all open presents. Sam had stopped them. Tony had been in his lab for the last two weeks. Sam was certain that the baby desperately needed his sleep. Steve and Bucky weren't thrilled about waiting, but Sam let them dig into their stocking and set them up watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. They were both steadily working their way through sippys of orange juice, when Tony brought the baby out into the living room. They were all still dressed in their new PJ's. Tony liked the way the soft fabric felt against his skin. He rubbed his hand on his belly, enjoying how fuzzy they were. Steve's eyes lit up when he saw Tony.

"Merry Christmas, Tony!" He called from the couch.

Tony blushed and hid his face in Sam's chest. Steve just grinned at him. Bucky grinned too, jumping up.

"Can we open pwesents now?" Bucky asked, excitement rolling off of him in waves.

Steve jumped up too. They bounced on their feet, looking hopefully up at Sam.

"I think so. Now that Tony's awake there's no reason not to."

The boys cheered. Tony could see two stockings on the floor. Both had chocolate pouring out of them. On the ground he spotted a package of peeps and a couple of candy canes. There was also candy canes hanging up on the tree, Tony noticed. He hadn't stuck around long enough to help decorate the tree, but it was fully done up now. The popcorn and cranberries Tony had strung together were on it. So was the paper chain Sam had been working on. He'd clearly added to it, because it wrapped around the tree multiple times, starting towards the top and working it's way down towards the base. They'd hung multi colored lights and the ornaments they'd painted, as well as some that they must have made on previous years, or maybe after Tony had left. Under the foliage of pine, were neatly stacked presents in different colored wrapping paper. Most of them were either a solid blue, red, or silver, but Tony spotted a handful of gifts that were wrapped up on brown paper, that had been colored with markers. Steve followed Tony's questioning gaze and saw him staring at the hand colored parcels. He smiled at Tony and grabbed one of them, thrusting it into Tony's chest. Tony took it hesitantly, not sure if it was okay for Steve to give it to him. He looked at Sam for confirmation. Sam was smiling, so Tony thought it was okay.

"These ones are from us. The other ones are from Santa." Steve explained to the baby.

"Yeah, Santa's elfes wo'k in 'is wo'kshop." Bucky added.

Steve nodded in agreement.

"Yup, and they build all of the toys, just like you build things when you're Big, Tony. Except, Santa lives in the North Pole."

Tony blinked his eyes. A part of him accepted the faulty logic without a question. Logically, he thought maybe that was wrong. He didn't try to correct his brothers though. They sat around opening their presents and watching the unveiling of each others gifts. Even, Sam got a few all wrapped up in the scribbled on brown paper. Tony hadn't gotten a whole bunch of new toys and clothes, but the thing he was clutching in his hand, refusing to part with, was a picture. Steve had painted it for him. He clearly had done it when he was Big, from the precision of the strokes and the subject matter.

Tony's eyes ate up the colors and the curved lines, taking in every little detail of what could only be described as a masterpiece. It was a portrait of Tony and Bucky. They were all wrapped up in winter gear. Snow all around them. Tony remembered this moment vividly, it had only been earlier this month when it happened. They had gone to Central Park to play in the snow. Bucky had shoved Tony to the ground, and even though it didn't hurt, he had still cried about it. Bucky had gotten scolded and Tony didn't really like that. He had called out to his brother, and Bucky had grinned, before diving at him. They had collapsed back into the fluffy snow, laughing and when they stopped laughing they snuggled together for a moment. Bucky's legs entwined with Tony's. That was the moment Steve had captured beautifully. The two of them cuddling in the snow that blanketed the grass. It was wholesome and sweet and Tony loved it. Tony, finally looked up from the portrait, to find all eyes were on him. He flushed and carefully set the framed picture down. It was so precious to his heart, almost as much as the person who had made it for him, and the one that was displayed in it with him. He stood up, taking a couple of steps towards Steve. The boy looked nervous. Tony hadn't said anything after unraveling it. He'd just stared at it. It was the last thing to be opened, which is why no one made a move to grab another present. Tony allowed his weight to fall, knowing Steve would catch him, and wrapped his arms around the boy. Steve squeezed him, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"Do you like it?" His voice quivered with worry.

"Wove i'." Tony corrected.

"I go' ya pwesen' too." Bucky said, his voice whiny.

"Bucky." Sam said in a warning tone.

Tony pulled back glancing up at Sam. Bucky huffed and stomped his foot. He hadn't realized they were supposed to get each other presents. Tony hadn't really thought about it. He wasn't really even expecting to get presents for Christmas. He had been told he would be, but he didn't really believe in Santa and all that, so he just figured he wouldn't get any. He didn't know that they would get him gifts, or that he should get gifts for them. They didn't ask about it, so Tony thought maybe they hadn't expected him to.

"You can give Tony your present when you're both Big." Sam reminded the boy.

Bucky sighed, but nodded. Tony tilted his head. He looked questioningly at Steve, but the boy just looked away, blushing. Huh.

They let Tony look through his stocking too. It was packed full of candy, and Tony was shocked to see just how much. Clearly, Steve and Bucky had already consumed a fair portion of there's before Tony even woke up, if the contents of Tony's stocking was anything to go by. Sam let Tony pull out some chocolate, before tucking all three stockings away for consumption at a later date. They ate a delicious brunch. Sam had made them a honey glazed ham, but they also had leftovers from last night's dinner. Mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, rolls, marshmallow yams, butternut squash, cinnamon rolls and pecan pie. After stuffing themselves full, a potty break for the older boys and a change for Tony, they settled down in the living room. The room was a mess. Scattered toys across the floor and wrapping paper strewn all over the place. Tony thought about how Obie wouldn't like that, but he shook the thought away.

Sam pulled out a leather bound book that Tony frowned at. He knew what it was, though he'd never actually opened one. There were small tabs on some of the pages, and Sam flipped to one of them, reading a highlighted passage. Tony didn't really listen to it, it wasn't a fairy tale or a children's story, so it didn't hold his attention. He looked at his brothers instead. Steve was sitting up and listening with rapt attention. He nodded along from time to time as Sam continued reading a couple more passages off of different pages. Bucky looked about as interested as Tony felt and kept sighing in boredom. Steve sent them a disapproving look when Bucky started tickling Tony, that had them both falling silent. 

* * *

Tony reached out and touched one of the ornaments. It was the angel that Steve had painted. It was perfect and Tony was mesmerized by its beauty. The surface silver and shiny, like it had been glossed over to preserve it. His fingers had barely grazed it, when a memory flashed through his mind like lightning in the sky. It lit up the crevices of his brain, the way lightning bolts lit up a room. The shadows it left in its wake, were dark and unyielding.

His father yelled at him for touching an ornament. It had been round and made of glass, sparkly, but nowhere as captivating as the one Steve had painted. Just as Tony's fingers had felt the rough texture of glitter beneath them, his arm had been ripped away. Howard had lifted him by his arm, pulling him away from the tree, so hard his shoulder had popped out of place with a sickening sound. Tony had screamed, even though he knew he shouldn't and Howard slapped his palm over Tony's mouth, muffling his agonized cries behind the man's large hand. It was Christmas morning, yet his father held no warmth or compassion. Tony can still recall the panic that seized him, as he watched his father pull his belt out of his belt loops. He could still feel the welts that had formed on his behind, hear the sound of leather against skin. Tony screamed, the sound tore out of his throat, the way his father's belt had torn up his flesh. He pulled his hand away from the ceramic angel, as though it had burnt him.

Tony heard screaming, that echoed his own. At first he thought it was screams from his memory. They sounded so distant. They weren't though. Sam reached out and pulled the screaming Little around, his eyes panicked as they scanned his body for signs of injury. Tony fell silent. His eyes were wide, and they stared blankly at Sam. No recognition in their depths. Tony was looking, but he wasn't seeing. He was too caught up in the past. In the pain. The horror. The screams. Bucky was still screaming. Tony's painfilled scream had set him off, reminded him of his own dark past. Of the days when he heard the tortured screams of his comrades, as the Soviets interrogated them. Steve had frozen where he stood. His past catching up to him as well. Steve was remembering the sound of Bucky's screams and his small voice begging for the pain to stop. It seemed Sam was the only one lucid enough to be able to provide comfort despite his own trauma that was undoubtedly being triggered. He scooped Tony into his arms. The baby was trembling with fear, and he flinched hard, trying to pull away from Sam. The man cradled him to his chest anyways. He whispered words in his ear, trying to settle the baby.

"It's okay, Tony. It's alright. I've got you."

Sam held Tony in his arms as he approached Bucky. He crouched down in front of the boy, setting Tony on his knee, to free up one of his hands. His other was wrapped around Tony, stabilizing him. Grounding him to the present. Tony's shuddering breaths didn't ease up though. He covered his ears, not liking being closer to the high pitched sound.

"Bucky, hey. It's Sammy. Everything's okay, bud. I'm right here. I'm right here with you."

He set his arm on Bucky's shoulder, trying to pull him back to the present moment, but Bucky flinched away and screamed louder at the touch. Tony screamed again at the sound of it. Steve was still paralyzed, tears flowing down his cheeks, his body shaking and Sam was scared. He didn't know what to do. He had more kids than he had arms, and each one had their own set of trauma that was clearly being triggered, not to mention that kinda wanted to curl up and cry or maybe even scream too. Sam was hesitant to touch Bucky again, but he didn't want to walk away from him to comfort Steve. He couldn't just ignore the older boy though. Sam had to make a decision. He wasn't helping anyone by sitting here, and doing nothing. He took a breath hoping to calm his racing heart beat, and he stood up. Bucky's eyes got impossibly wider and he ran. Sam watched him disappear into the nursery. He cursed under his breath, but didn't go after him. He didn't want the boy to feel cornered, and certainly didn't want him to think he was being hunted down. Sam forced himself to remove his gaze from the nursery door, and started rubbing circles on Tony's back. He kept his steps slow and crouched down, this time next to Steve.

"Stevie, baby, can you hear me?"

Steve whimpered, gasping for breath. 

"Breathe. I need you to breathe for me." Sam instructed the boy.

He nodded, sucking in air. He started coughing hard, and Sam rubbed circles on his chest. Steve's hands came up and clutched Sam's hand. He clung to it. His eyes were terrified and Sam could only guess the things that were playing in his mind, as he stared, unseeing at his Caregiver.

"Stevie? Can you hear me? I'm right here. It's okay. Everything's okay."

His breathing began to even out, the coughing stopping and he blinked at Sam.

"Sammy?" His voice sounded so small, so lost, it broke Sam's heart.

"Yeah, it's me bud. I'm right here."

Steve sobbed and launched himself at his Caregiver. Sam barely had time to brace himself before the boy collided with him. Sam managed to stay upright, but just barely. He scooped up Steve as best as he could, propping up Tony on his other hip. He had seen Phil scoop up two Littles in his arms like it was nothing and it always impressed Sam, but even more so in this moment as Sam's arms strained as he brought the two boys into the nursery. Bucky was curled up in the corner. His eyes were screwed shut, his hands covering his ears, as he rocked back and forth. Sam set Tony and Steve down on the bed. They both tried to cling to him, protesting, but he shushed them, and pressed on their shoulders, until they were lying down. He nudged them towards each other and was relieved when they latched on. Steve pulled Tony against him, squeezing the baby to him. Tony whimpered and gripped at Steve's pyjama shirt, his fist turning white. Sam got up and walked over to Bucky. The boy snapped his gaze to him when he got near. Sam squatted down, trying to be as small and unintimidating as possible for a man his size. The boy whimpered, scared.

"Bucky? Baby, it's Sammy. You're safe. We're at home. It's Christmas. Everything's okay, bud." Sam said softly.

Bucky looked around the room frantically. Sam wasn't sure what he was seeing. If he was even seeing him or the nursery. He didn't know if his boy was so lost in his memories that all he could see was cold cells and damp, stone walls. Sam didn't want to startle the frightened Little again, so he just sat down next him, his back up against the wall, and his feet planted on the ground. He rested his arms on his knees and sat there. The minutes ticked on, but Sam wasn't sure how many passed before Bucky spoke.

"There was screaming." He said, his voice sounding older, but still Little.

"Yes, there was." Sam confirmed.

"I could- I could hear screaming."

"I know, buddy. I know you could."

"Why?"

"You could hear Tony. He was the one screaming, Bucky."

"Why? What's wrong, Sammy?"

"I don't know." Sam admitted.

"You don't know?" Bucky echoed.

"No, I don't. I'm not sure what happened."

Bucky sighed. It was a heavy, haunted sound, that made Sam's skin crawl. Bucky looked around the room. The world around him forming again. He saw Steve and Tony huddled up on the bed. His eyes got wide, and he lurched to his feet. He stumbled over to the bed, collapsing next to them and pressing up against Tony. He breathed in their scents. They smelled like home. They felt like home. Their body heat, their breaths, everything about them was home. Bucky started sobbing. Sam crawled into bed, wrapping up his three Littles in his arms, as best as he could. Tony's head was throbbing, his eyes leaking. He clutched Steve's shirt, pressing his snotty face into the fabric. He could feel Bucky shaking with the force of his sobs behind him, but he couldn't find it in him to comfort him. Oh god, he'd ruined Christmas. He couldn't believe it. Why did he have to touch that stupid ornament? He didn't want a bad memory associated with something so beautiful, something Steve had made.

He could feel Sam's arms wrapped around them, holding them together, trying to keep them from falling apart. Tony was glass, shattering into a million pieces. Sam was manipulating time, like film played on reverse, pulling the pieces back into place, until, eventually, it was like they had never broken. The bullet that ricocheted off his heart, Sam was reaching out with his shield to stop before it ever hit it's target. Tony could still feel the throbbing in his head, pounding against his skull like a jack hammer and ghost pains of a chest wound long since recovered, nothing more than scars now, but he was starting to come back. The world was returning to his consciousness. He was suddenly hyper aware of every tiny little thing. Of the tremble of his hands. Of the wet spots on his back, from Bucky's tears staining his shirt. Of the way Steve was squeezing him to his chest, so tight it was almost painful. Like he was holding on for dear life. Like he was afraid Tony would slip away if he loosened his hold.

Tony could feel the heavy urine soaked diaper between his legs. It was cold and itchy against his sensitive skin. He squirmed, wanting to escape the unpleasant sensation. The movement seemed to cause both of his brothers to panic. Steve pulled him impossibly closer to him, pinning him in place with his arms. Bucky's arms wound around his waist. He suddenly had two Littles with enhanced strength, anchoring him to the bed. It was uncomfortable, and almost painful. Tony thought he might have released a small painfilled sob at the feeling. He wasn't sure. Tony thought it might even crack his ribs, if they increased the pressure anymore, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away. He buried his face in Steve's chest, letting his arms slip around his waist. The movement seemed to reassure him that Tony wasn't going to leave him. He relaxed a tad, his grip becoming a comforting presence. Sam's hand rubbed up and down Bucky's arm, coaxing him into loosening his hold on Tony. Sam didn't want to separate them, but he couldn't let them hold Tony so tightly. He knew they weren't trying to hurt him. Tony just wasn't capable of enduring the same level of pressure that they could. Sam was relieved when Bucky relaxed against the baby.

Sam was worried about them. Worried about what had caused such an intense reaction in Tony. It had scared Sam to hear him suddenly go off like that. His first instinct had been to look the boy over for a physical injury. He thought maybe an ornament had broken and he'd hurt himself on it, though, logically, that didn't make much sense. Sam had been sitting only a few feet away from the baby, and it would take a pretty considerable amount of force to break one of those solid ceramic figurines. Sam surely would have noticed if something like that had happened. Not to mention, Sam had been watching the Little carefully. He had seen him crawl up to the tree. Had watched him kneel in front of it and reach his hand out. Sam had been prepared to distract him, or even remove an ornament from his hand. What he hadn't been prepared for was the screaming. The screaming that was accompanied by Bucky's. The chaos and pain and fear that had consumed the joyous atmosphere was overwhelming, to say the least.

Sam doesn't know how long they laid there, but eventually the fear dissipated and he was able to coax the boys out of the bed. He didn't want their holiday to be ruined by this, especially since it was Tony's first one with them. Baby's first Christmas, Sam thought. He changed them, putting cream on the younger two boys, since they both had the start of rashes forming on their sensitive skin. They quickly turned the mood around with Christmas music. They sang and danced around the living room, and the traumatic event slipped into the background, replaced by excitement for their new things. The boys played happily with all of their new toys for a couple of hours. They ate more leftovers for lunch. Sam was about to put them down for a nap, when Bucky surprised him by getting Big.

"Alright kiddos, it's time for a nap."

Bucky scowled at him, and opened his mouth to protest. Then Sam saw him glance at the digital clock on the stove. His eyes got wide and he shot up from his chair.

"We can't Sam. We have to go."

Sam blinked at him. He hadn't been expecting that. Bucky stepped closer to him and whispered quietly so Tony wouldn't hear, "I still have to give Tony his present."

Sam had totally forgotten about that. Honestly, he was trying not to think about it. The one day that Bucky was Big in the past two weeks, was because Steve called to say it had arrived. Sam had asked him what he had gotten him, as the man had thrown on a pair of Sam's sweats and one of his shirts. Bucky had sent him a wicked grin and told him. Sam had instantly regretted asking.

"Right. Um..." Sam glanced over at the baby, who tilted his head curiously at them.

Sam didn't want to burst Bucky's bubble by pointing out that Tony might not get Big. Bucky worried at his lip, seeming to have a similar revelation.

"Stevie, we gotta go. We have that thing, very important, that we, um, need to do." Bucky said to Steve.

Steve frowned at him. Bucky sent a pointed look at Tony and Steve's eyes got wide. He blushed hard, but stood up and entered the bathroom. He emerged ten minutes later Big and he and Bucky went to change into some of Sam's clothes.

"Hey, Tony. I know that you're Little right now, but I think Steve and Bucky want to do something with you for Christmas. Something that requires you to be Big." Sam said, vaguely.

Tony blinked at him. He looked at Steve and Bucky when they reentered the room.

"You don't have to." Sam assured him.

Bucky frowned at that, but didn't say anything against it. Tony sighed and stood up. He was deep in his headspace, but he did want to get Big. So he went to the shower and allowed the water to run over his back and soothe his aching muscles. He thought about work and the project he was working on with Bruce, and his boyfriends. He was fully Big when he got out.

* * *

Phil woke up to two Littles jumping up and down on his bed.

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up! Wake up!" Clint chanted.

Phil groaned. Melinda sat up in bed and sent Clint and Tasha a stern look. They plopped down on their bottoms and the bouncing ceased. Bruce, Tasha, and Clint had all spent the night, so they could be there to open presents.

"Merry Christmas, kids." Melinda said.

"Merry Christmas, May!" They responded, gleefully.

Melinda got out of bed, scooping up Skye who had been peeking her head around the doorway, as she left the room. Phil pulled himself out of the warm covers and slipped on his slippers and robe. He kissed Tasha on the head and pulled Clint into his arms.

"Daddy, it's Christmas!"

"I know, little bird." Phil chuckled, kissing his nose.

Clint giggled and rubbed his nose against his daddy's. Phil smiled at him, walking towards the living room. Tasha raced ahead of them, barreling into Bruce on the couch. He let out a grunt, but cuddled her into his chest and Grant rolled his eyes at Tasha for interrupting their conversation. Leo and Jemma were shaking the presents under the tree. Phil chuckled when they flashed him deceivingly innocent smiles, before bouncing to his side.

"Can we open presents now, Daddy?" Leo asked.

"Please, can we, Daddy? Please!" Jemma begged, clasping her hands together like she was praying for presents.

Phil ruffled her hair, then pressed a kiss to Leo's forehead.

"Ask Mommy."

They pouted, but ran off to find Melinda.

* * *

Presents were opened, stockings dumped out and Littles spread out to enjoy their new gifts. Melinda was keeping a close eye on the stockings, to ensure none of the kids overdosed on chocolate. She rolled her eyes when Jemma told Clint Santa Claus wasn't real.

"He is too real." Clint said.

"Is not." The girl protested.

"Is too."

"Is not."

They went on like that for a good couple of minutes before Melinda decided, Christmas morning or not, she wasn't going to keep listening to it.

"Enough, children. Jemma, you're upsetting the baby. Clint, Jemma can believe in whatever she wants to believe in."

"He's not real." Jemma insisted at the same time that Clint insisted, "I'm not a baby."

"No more bickering. It's Christmas. Why don't I help you each unwrap a candy cane and I'll make you some cocoa to dip it in."

It wasn't really a question, but both kids cheered a yes, and eagerly followed her into the kitchen, candy canes in hand.

Phil raised a brow when he saw Clint and Jemma marching into the kitchen behind Melinda. Jemma was licking at her candy cane, whereas Clint was sucking and gnawing on his.

"Cocoa." Melinda said.

Phil nodded his head in understanding at the brief explanation.

* * *

Wade scooped the sleepy baby up in his arms. He grumbled, but let his Caregiver carry him out to the living room where his Aunt May was already waiting.

"Merry Christmas, Petey! Look at all the presents Santa brought you!" May said.

Peter blinked his eyes open slowly, but they closed again as he yawned. His fists came up to rub the sleep out of them before he finally managed to pry them open and look at the presents piled around the tree. He gasped, instantly awake. Wade chuckled as the baby wriggled in his arms.

"Down, Daddy!" He whined.

Wade set him down and Peter dropped to his hands and knees. The carpet was soft against his palms as he crawled over to the tree and retrieved one of the presents. He examined the box carefully. It was marked with permanent marker, and he recognized the large letters on it, because they spelt out his name.

"Mine!" He said, holding it out excitedly for Wade and May to see.

"That's right, baby boy. They're all yours." Wade told him.

Peter eyes were round as he sifted through the pile. Wade was right, they were all his! A few of them, in red and gold wrapping paper were from Tony. Peter knew this even with out reading the from Tony part. Tony always gave him presents wrapped in red and gold. May laughed at his reaction. The presents were always all his every year. Yet, every year, without fail, he was shocked by this piece of information. It was Wade's first Christmas with them though, and he was excited to watch his baby open up his presents.

"Which one do you wanna open first?" May asked him, a mug of coffee in her hands.

Peter held up a flat rectangle shaped box that was from Tony and showed them it. They smiled and nodded encouragingly. Peter was excited to tear off the paper. Tony always gave the best presents. He gasped as he stared at the unwrapped present. It was a book! Peter loved books, whether he was Big or Little. The covered showed four women whose outfits had equations written on them. Behind them was a massive moon bordered by stars. There was a spaceship heading towards the moon, and it was teeny tiny compared to the size of the moon. Peter knew this was because of how large the moon was. He handed the book to Wade to read the front of it for him.

"Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race." He read out loud.

Peter bounced up and down and refused to open more presents until they'd read the whole book from cover to cover, including the timeline at the end.

* * *

Ned came over later in the day and Wade took the boys to the park to play in the snow. Peter spent a fair amount of time eating fluffy white snow and Wade had to make sure it was, in fact, white snow that he was filling his cheeks with. Ned helped him walk though the snow when the baby kept falling over. He led him over to a huge pile that had fallen off of a tree. Ned turned and let his body fall into it. The snow poofed up around him, giving in as he sunk into the snowy depths. He sat up and laughed. Peter giggled at him.

"Siwwy." He told the older boy between giggles.

Ned poked at his cheek.

"You're silly, Petey."

That just made the baby giggle harder, until he was full out laughing and fell over from the force of it. He clutched his tummy and Ned cracked up too. Wade smiled at them. He was glad Peter had a friend like Ned. Between Ned and MJ, Wade didn't worry so much when Peter went to school. He knew the kid was a genius, but being a genius Little didn't usually make you the most popular kid around. Peter tended to be an outcast. His kid was definitely on the outskirts, and if it weren't for his friends looking out for him and being there for him, Wade would probably have him do online school or get him a private tutor. Tony had offered more than once to get him one, but Peter wanted to go to school. He liked being there with his friends. It also gave the boy a semblance of normality, like he was just an average kid, instead of a baby.

Wade supported his decision, and was just grateful for the Caregiver and Dom that had his back. Though technically neither of them had been classified yet. It wasn't hard to tell what they would be classified as. They never failed to stand up for Peter, and when he dropped at school, they took care of him. Wade couldn't help but think they were a cute little family. Ned and MJ definitely played the role of his parents when he was Little. They absolutely adored the baby, and never failed to be there for him. MJ was always quick to tell him off for being naughty. Ned was much more lenient and would just laugh at Peter's antics. Peter was a pretty good baby, most of the time. Though he had gotten scolded by MJ more than once for tugging at her curls, and he never failed to cry about it. Peter did not react well to being scolded, especially when it was coming from MJ. He looked up to and admired the tenacious Dom. Wade thought that without his friends, the boy would be less inclined to want to go to school in the traditional sense. Peter was way too inquisitive to not want to learn.

Ned scooped Peter up in his arms when he sneezed and carried him over to Wade.

"I think we should we take him back, and warm him up." Ned told the older Caregiver.

Yep, that was just like Ned. He was like the fun parent, but he still always looked out for Peter's well being.

* * *

Tommy stared out at the way the Christmas lights twinkled on the buildings and in the shop windows as they drove back to the Tower. He reached over and pulled a chocolate Santa out of his stocking. He unwrapped the top of it and bit into his head, taking a large chunk out of the edible sculpture. The inside was hollow, and the chocolate sugary and sweet as it melted on his tongue. Snow fell from the sky and icicles glistened hanging off of awnings. Tommy giggled as he saw a man skating in a fountain, a sheet of ice covering it. The streets were okay for driving because of the rock salt, but the sidewalks were still slick, shiny and glistening as the sunlight hit the icy surface.

"Did you have a good Christmas, Tommy?" Paul asked his son, glancing at him through the rear view mirror.

Tommy nodded his head, grinning at his dad and taking another bite of his chocolate. They had a stocking for Billy too, even though he didn't celebrate Christmas, he still always got chocolate and presents. Which is why there was also a stack of unopened presents in the backseat along with the new toys and clothes Tommy had gotten.

* * *

Tommy had his new hockey skates on, he was racing around the frozen solid pond whacking a puck with his hockey stick. Billy was less inclined to join in on his brothers fast pace game. He had on ice skates, and was more than happy to leisurely skate around, doing spins and jumps. He looked like he was dancing as worked his way around the ice. Wanda watched from the sidelines as her boys enjoyed their new skates. They had been skating since they were toddlers, but Paul hadn't gotten them each a new pair of skates for Christmas. She sipped on a piping hot cup of cocoa, small marshmallows floating by the rim.

"Thomas! Don't hit it towards your brother." She warned the older Little.

Tommy rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to hit him, he had a lot of control and great aim, but he changed directions anyways. Eventually, he abandoned his stick and puck on the snow covered grass, in favor of chasing Billy around the nature made rink. They were playing a game of tag, and they both knew Tommy would win. Still, they laughed and teased each other.

"Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na!" Billy sang out teasingly mimicking the song best friend by toy box.

He skated backwards, his thumbs on his temples, fingers splayed as he twisted his hands in a mocking gesture. Tommy narrowed his eyes at his younger brother and sped up, slamming into him, and sending them flying. They caught air before falling into a heap of snow near the edge.

"Oof!" Billy grunted, the wind knocked out of him from the impact.

Tommy laughed and wrapped his arms around the younger boys waist.

"Dammit!" Billy said, as he realized he was it now.

"Language, William." Wanda corrected.

"Sorry, Mommy." He called back.

Billy glared playfully up at Tommy and grabbed a handful of snow, shoving it in his face. Tommy wiped it away with his arm, laughing. Billy stuck his tongue out at him as his brothers laughter died down. Tommy just smiled and rubbed their red noses together, cooing at his younger brother.

"You're adorable, Billy."

"Shut up." The boy grumbled, blushing.

Tommy barked out another laugh and pressed a kiss to Billy's cheek. The boy smiled, but shoved his brother off of him. The older boy got up and helped Billy to his feet.

"You're it." He said, before skating away and hollering, "Catch me if you can!"

* * *

They curled up on the couch, each on one side of their mother, her arms wrapped around them. She rubbed their upper arms to help warm them up.

"I'm the best skater in the family." Billy was saying.

Tommy scoffed and leaned over to shove his brother.

"Thomas." Wanda said sternly.

He didn't acknowledge her, but sat back.

"Are not."

"Am too."

"Maybe the best ice skater. You suck at hockey."

"Thomas." Wanda sent him a look that said stop it.

Billy crossed his arms, looking highly offended.

"Okay, baby. I apologize. You're a beautiful ice skater."

The younger Little glared at his mocking tone, before smirking.

"I accept the compliment."

Wanda rolled her eyes affectionately at the two boys.

* * *

Darcy and Loki were sneaking candy out of there stocking when Thor entered the living room. He raised a brow in amusement, clearing his throat. His arms were crossed over his chest and he gave them a stern look. They both turned around slowly. Darcy hid a piece of chocolate behind her back and Loki popped one in his mouth.

"What are you two doing?"

"Nothing." Darcy rushed out.

"No'in'." Loki mimicked, his mouth still full of chocolate.

Thor chuckled unable to pretend to be disappointed at the sight of chocolate dribbling down Loki's chin.

"Wipe off your brother's face, Darce."

"Okay, Daddy." Darcy said innocently.

Thor laughed. She only ever called him that when she was really try to get away with something, or when she wanted something.

"Just don't tell your mother." Thor was saying just as Jane walked in.

"Don't tell me what?" She asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the two Littles.

"Nothing." All three of them said, simultaneously.

Jane didn't look convinced, but she let it slide. It was Christmas after all. Thor scooped up Loki and Darcy jumped up, running over to grab stockings off the wall. There was more presents stacked up under and around the tree than could possibly be considered reasonable. Only a handful of them came from Jane and Thor. Most of them had been shipped over by Odin and Freya. Having royal grandparents meant receiving lavish gifts and a ton of them too. Erik had sent a few for the kids as well. Jane was always floored by the amount of presents Thor and Loki's parents would send. She begged him to make them stop, but he didn't see the harm in it. Jane did insist, that right before the holidays, they purge any thing that the kids had lost interest in. If they didn't, she was sure their floor would be overflowing with toys and electronics by now. There was one particularly large present that concerned her when it had arrived. It had turned out to be a blow up ball pit, with a slide, and at least twice as many colorful balls than could possibly fit inside it. The note attached to it had read "Just in case you lose a few of them."

* * *

Scott walked down the stairs to find his daughter waiting at the bottom of them.

"Daddy!" She cried when she saw him.

Scott smiled and pulled the girl into a hug. She beamed up at him.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Cas."

"Is Mommy up yet?"

"Not yet. Your mama and papa are sleeping."

The girl started for the stairs, with every intention of waking them. Scott pulled her to a stop and the Little pouted at him.

"I don't think so, bug. Let them sleep."

The girl stomped her foot, but let her dad pull her into the kitchen. He made them ham scram with the leftover ham from the night before and put coffee grounds in the coffee machine before turning it on. Cassie spelt words with her fridge magnets while he cooked. Scott smiled when he looked over to see the Little had spelt Merry Christmas in chunky, brightly colored letters. They were just finishing up eating, when Maggie and Jim came downstairs. Cassie jumped up and hugged each of them before dashing off to the living room.

"Present time!" She called as she disappeared from sight.

The three adults chuckled. Scott got up and put the dishes in the sink. Maggie came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Merry Christmas, babe." She greeted.

He turned around in her arms and kissed her. He nodded at Jim, who smiled sleepily and yawned out a Merry Christmas. Scott laughed.

"There's coffee in the pot." Scott told him.

"You're a saint." Jim replied.

Scott and Jim got along well. That hadn't always been the case. Scott and Maggie had always had a strong marriage. Their love only expanded when Maggie gave birth to Cassie. Then, Scott had been sent away for theft. When he came back, he wasn't happy to find out that his wife had taken comfort in someone else's arms, let alone a cop's. Jim wasn't thrilled that his girlfriend, and the little girl he was quickly growing attached to, were spending time with a criminal.

That was five years ago.

Now they had a mutual friendship. Both men wanted what was best for Maggie and Cassie and loved them deeply. Scott realized that Jim wasn't just some asshole cop who thought he was better than everyone else. Jim realized that Scott was actually a good guy, who cared about his wife and kid. Since then, the four of them were a happy family. They even all lived together, and the three adults shared a king size bed.

"Presents, guys. Come on. You're so slow." Cassie complained.

"Cassie." Maggie said, exasperated, but followed the girl into the living room.

The men hurried out too, eager to see Cassie open her presents. They all started with their stockings first, before working on unwrapping the gifts. Maggie thanked the men for the earrings they'd gotten her, and Cassie jumped up and down in excitement when she got an ant farm.

* * *

Maggie curled up on the couch, a hot mug of coffee in her hands as she watched the men she loved dote upon their daughter. She was throwing a tea party with the set she had received that morning, and had wrapped feather boas around their necks and painted their nails rainbow colors. Her dads didn't complain.

"Here, papa." She said, handing Jim an empty teacup. "It's chamomile."

He took a pretend sip.

"Oh, it's delicious." He said, when she looked at him expectantly. "What do you think, Scott?"

"I agree. Best tea ever, lovebug."

She grinned at them and served them plastic cookies. Maggie smiled fondly at the sight. There was a time when she had worried that she would regret falling for Jim. Now, she knew that wasn't the case. She wouldn't change a thing about her family. It is a very merry Christmas, she thought, as Cassie broke out singing jingle bells and the two men joined in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why I decided to do that to Sam and his Littles Xmas morning, oh god
> 
> I was all like this is gonna be a cute fluff piece, then suddenly I'm like omg Tony's gonna have a panic attack from a Howard memory and it went down hill real fast idk guys idk
> 
> At least everyone else just had cute moments, right?
> 
> So, I'm not going to be posting the last chapter until Monday, sorry. It'll round out the holiday season with a New Year's celebration.
> 
> Although, if anyone's interested in learning what present Bucky gives Tony, I will be posting that as a one shot under Stuckonylover on Friday. It's explicit, so I'm not going to add it to this series.
> 
> Also, I finally figured out how to put in that time gap line. What? Crazy! If I find the time, I may or may not go back and edit my past stories and add those in. We'll see.
> 
> 2/20/2021 - Aye! I finally got around to adding those time gap lines to the rest of the parts lol


	10. New Years Eve Celebration

"Come on, Sammy!" Steve urged as they walked through the lobby of Stark Tower.  
  
Sam couldn't help but smile at his boys. They were excited to get to the party, and Sam couldn't blame them. Pepper had helped to arrange a New Years Eve party just for the Littles. This was really more of the pre-party. The plan was that they'd let the Littles play until nine, then everyone would go down for a nap and get woken up at eleven. Sam thought it was smart, since no one really wanted to let them stay up until midnight. Tony had been adamant that he would be awake at midnight, and he insisted he would be Big for it too. He might wake up Big after his nap, but he definitely wasn't now. Tony was in Sam's arms. The baby was already nodding off, and it was only just passed eight. Bucky ran out of the elevator, Steve right behind him. Sam chuckled and followed them. Tasha and Clint were running wild, as per usual, Tommy chasing after them. Sam walked over to Phil.  
  
"My boys are thrilled to be here, as you can see."  
  
Sam nodded towards them. Bucky and Clint were rolling around on the ground together. Bucky had tackled the other boy. Steve was already chatting animatedly to Billy who was curled up next to his mom. Phil laughed.  
  
"Yeah, my Littles aren't any better. May's bringing everyone else over."  
  
"Even Bruce?"  
  
Phil nodded, taking a sip of beer.  
  
"Yeah, he was having a playdate with Grant. Or hanging out, I guess they would call it."  
  
Sam chuckled.  
  
"How are you doing, Tony?" Phil asked in a higher tone, the kind reserved for young children.  
  
Tony lifted his head, blinked at Phil sleepily, and dropped his head back down on Sam's shoulder. Sam smiled, rubbing his back.  
  
"He's ready for bed."  
  
"I see that. Well, we're getting close, but you could always put him down now."  
  
Sam nodded, but didn't immediately. He brought Tony over to where Peter and Wade were blowing bubbles. Peter also looked tired. He yawned as Sam approached them, but smiled up at him.  
  
"'ony!" He squealed.  
  
Wade smiled at the baby. Tony lifted his head at the sound and looked at Peter. He perked up a little bit and squirmed to be put down. He hugged Peter as soon as he was on his feet.  
  
"Petey!"  
  
Peter hugged him back then pulled away and pointed at the bubble wand in Wade's hands.  
  
"Bubbas!"  
  
Tony's eyes were round and he gasped when Wade blew into the wand. A whole bunch of small bubbles formed from the soapy liquid and the Littles squealed in delight. They clapped their hands together, trying to pop all of the bubbles. Sam and Wade laughed at the adorableness that was their babies.

"Samuel, good to see you, friend." A familiar voice said behind him.

Sam turned to greet the man.  
  
"Thor, great to see you too, man. I hear your father's doing well."  
  
"Yes, he is improving rapidly."  
  
"I'm glad to hear it." Sam said.  
  
He genuinely was. They'd all been worried about him since he went into the coma, but from what he'd heard, the man was on his way to making a full recovery. Well, minus an eye.  
  
"Yes, thank you. I appreciate that you visited him. Everyone was so kind to come by and bring him gifts."  
  
"Of course. No worries. Is he still in the recovery ward?"  
  
"No, he was released before Christmas. He was glad to spend the holiday back home."  
  
"Really? That's great! So, he's back in Norway then?"  
  
"Yes. We'll miss him terribly, but a throne needs its king."  
  
Sam nodded, he heard a hint of sadness in the man's voice, but didn't press it.  
  
"Well, I really am happy for him. Where's Loki?"  
  
"Ah, Lolo did not make it to nine. He was asleep before we even got off the elevator." Thor said.  
  
He pointed to Jane who was holding a sleeping Loki in her lap.  
  
"Yeah, I thought Tony would nod off in my arms, but Wade seems to be doing a good job of keeping those two awake."  
  
The babies were giggling at the bursting bubbles and stomping their feet in the puddles of soap that were forming on the hardwood floors. Thor laughed, and clapped Sam on the back, before excusing himself for a beer. When nine came around, all of the Littles were laid down in the living room on blankets or couches. Some of them had already fallen asleep, while others were wide awake and vibrating with excitement. Steve was one of the wide awake Littles. He was chattering excitedly to Skye. The two had their heads pressed together as they laid on their stomachs, propped up on their elbows. May told them to lay down and go to sleep, not unkindly, before reminding them that they get donuts when they woke up. Soon all of the kids were asleep and the adults chatted softly in the dimly lit room. Bottles of champagne were passed around the room and donuts consumed while they waited for eleven o'clock to come.

* * *

"Sammy?"  
  
"What's up, buddy?" Sam asked, he was currently filling up cups with snap on lids and straws for the Littles to drink sparkling cider out of.  
  
"Tony needs his Toutou. I can't find it." Steve said, looking distressed.  
  
"I have a tutu, it's purple." Clint said, lifting his head off of Phil's shoulder in interest.  
  
"That's cool, bud. Tony's actually looking for his puppy. Have you seen it anywhere?" Sam told him.  
  
Clint looked confused and shook his head.  
  
"Alright. Come on, Stevie. Let's go look around."  
  
Last Sam had seen Tony had been holding him.   
  
"Sammy! Look! I gotta donut."  
  
Bucky came running up, holding a pink frosted donut with rainbow sprinkles.  
  
"Woah! So cool, buddy. Hey, have you seen Tony's puppy anywhere?"  
  
Bucky shook his head, running over to Leo to show off his donut. Sam sighed. He searched all over the room. Under the table, behind the couches, in the blankets. Tony followed him around crying.  
  
"Toutou?" The baby sobbed.  
  
"I'm looking for him, baby boy."  
  
"What's wrong, Tony? Aren't you having fun at the party?" Pepper asked, coming up to them.  
  
"Peppa, no Toutou." The baby explained his tone heart broken and tears running down his cheeks.  
  
Pepper looked at Sam to translate.  
  
"He lost his puppy. You haven't seen it have you?"  
  
"Yes, I have." Pepper said surprising Sam. "Tony, it's okay. Rhodey's keeping your puppy safe for you. He's out on the balcony."  
  
"Thank you." Sam said gratefully.  
  
The baby took off running towards the door that led outside. Sam slid it open for him and he dashed out into the frigid air.  
  
"What are you doing, Tones? It's freezing out here, kid." Rhodey asked.  
  
Rhodey scooped the barefooted baby up off the snow covered ground.  
  
"Toutou! Ma whodey Toutou." Tony said, sobbing into Rhodey's chest as he clutched the puppy the man had been holding.  
  
"Yeah, Tones. You handed him to me when Pepper gave you a donut. Do you remember that?"  
  
"Donu'." The baby confirmed with a nod of his head.  
  
"Sorry, if I worried you. I was just keeping a close eye on him, that's all. He wanted to get some fresh air, but I think he's ready to go back inside where it's all warm."  
  
"Ma Whodey Toutou." The baby told Steve when they got back inside.  
  
The boy gave him a relieved smile. Then glanced at Tony's feet that glistened from where they'd touched the snow. He touched one of his feet and his eyes got big.  
  
"Sammy! Tony's cold!" He said, his panic ramping back up.  
  
"Thanks, buddy. It's okay. I've got it. Why don't you go grab another donut."  
  
Steve hesitated for a minute then looked over and saw the other Littles eating frosted donuts and nodded. Sam smiled as the kid ran off. He put a pair of fuzzy socks on Tony to warm up his feet, but the baby didn't seem bothered by the cold. He was content to hold his puppy while Rhodey held him.  
  
"Thanks, Rhodey. You really saved me there. I don't know what I would have done if we didn't find him his puppy."  
  
"No problem. It's one of the easiest problems I've ever solved for Tony. I should really be thanking you, Sam."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"For everything. I love Tony, but you gave him the one thing I never could. If I had known he was a Little, I'd like to think I would have stepped up. I know I couldn't have done what you have though. You have two other kids and a job, yet you still manage to give him everything."  
  
Sam smiled.  
  
"I appreciate that, man. It's really a team effort. I'd never be able to do this for any of them, if I didn't have people there to help out."  
  
"Well, if you ever do wanna quit your job and be a fulltime Caregiver, I'm sure Tony would support you." Rhodey joked.  
  
Sam laughed and shook his head.  
  
"I know he would, but I like my job."

When midnight hit, the Littles were dressed in warm coats and snow boots and waiting on the balcony. They banged on pots and pans with wooden spoons and hollered into the night sky making as much noise as possible to ring in the new year. It was something Steve and Bucky had grown up doing and Sam always let them do it every year, if they managed to make it to midnight. They ended up sharing the tradition with their friends a few years back. Since then, it was just an expected part of New Years for the Littles. Clint had asked why the first year and Bucky's eyes had gotten big. To ward off evil spirits, he'd said like it was the most obvious thing. Steve had confirmed this. Frankly, Sam wasn't terribly shocked that this is what their parents had told them. He didn't believe it himself, but he wasn't going to deny his boys the experience.  
  
Tony didn't like all of the noise, neither did Peter. Tony clung to Rhodey and demanded to go back inside, Wade and Peter followed them in. Sam stayed on the balcony and watched as his boys made noise. Another tradition they had was singing Auld Lang Syne. Steve and Bucky knew every word and sang it at the top of their lungs, practically shouting the lyrics. Everyone joined in for the chorus and Sam couldn't help but think this was how it was meant to be. Friends coming together as a family to enjoy the festivities. They had JARVIS blast the song over the built in surround sound speakers that Tony had made and installed himself. Steve and Bucky were glad to share the song with Tony who enjoyed the loud music much more than he did the banging and hollering. JARVIS put lyrics up on the TV too, so everyone could sing along. 

That night as his boys were laying in bed, Sam paused outside their door. He could hear Steve and Bucky whispering to Tony before Steve started singing. Sam recognized the tune as Auld Lang Syne, the words weren't in English though. Steve had told Sam their first year together that the song was originally Scottish, but he was raised singing the Irish version, Bucky's family always sang it in English though. Sam listened to his rendition of the song and smiled as his boys wished each other happy new years.

"'appy New Yea's." Tony mumbled sleepily, but still managing to sound excited.

"Happy New Years, Tony. May you always be blessed and have all your prayers answered." Steve replied.

This was another thing that Sam recognized as something Steve's mom had taught him.

"And good tidings!" Bucky added.

Sam smiled. He wasn't big on new year resolutions, but he did know that he wanted good things for his boys. He was glad that Tony was a part of their family now and he was looking forward to many years of celebrations ahead of them. Hopefully, this year would be a good year for them all. He couldn't know for sure. What he could be sure of was that he'd always be there for his boys and they'd always be a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! So that's the end of the holiday season for our Littles and their families.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this! It wasn't what I was originally thinking it would be, but I don't regret it. With this new year, we've officially entered what I think of as the second phase of this series. It will be dramatic and angsty, and I hope you guys are looking forward to it.
> 
> 2/21/2021 - Also lots of hurt, omg i had no idea how much this phase was gonna hurt... but there's a lot of cuteness in there too
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this and sticking with me this far into this! It's been a crazy rollercoaster of a ride. As always, thanks for reading, leaving kudos and commenting. You guys are amazing!!

**Author's Note:**

> You can always chat with me about the series on my tumblr @buckybeardreams


End file.
